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Dementia 02

Topic: Imaging

Created on Thursday, February 22 2007 by jdmiles

Last modified on Thursday, February 22 2007.

A 76 year-old female presents to your office accompanied by her caretaker, who provides most of the history.
The caretaker states that for the past 5 years, the patient has had dramatic fluctuations in her level of arousal, has complained of a tremor in his hands, occasionally mentions that she is seeing visions of tiny magenta manta rays, has complained of rigidity, has been having progressively worsening memory problems, and has had worsening bradykinesia.
Which of the following pathology findings is MOST characteristic of this patient's disease?

A) Punctate hemorrhages in periaqueductal grey and in the grey matter surrounding the 3rd and 4th ventricles

B) Inclusions comprised primarily of tau protein

C) Lesions in the mammillary bodies

D) Inclusions comprised primarily of alpha-synuclein

E) Inclusions comprised primarily of feta cheese

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This question was created on February 22, 2007 by jdmiles.
This question was last modified on February 22, 2007.

ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS

A) punctate hemorrhages in periaqueductal grey and in the grey matter surrounding the 3rd and 4th ventricles

This answer is incorrect.

This patient's history is consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Patients with DLB develop Parkinsonian symptoms and dementia symptoms at approximately the same time. Other key clinical features include recurrent visual hallucinations and fluctuations in mental status. Punctate hemorrhages in periaqueductal grey and in the grey matter surrounding the 3rd and 4th ventricles are seen in Wenicke encephalopathy. (See References)

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B) inclusions comprised primarily of tau protein

This answer is incorrect.

This patient's history is consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Patients with DLB develop Parkinsonian symptoms and dementia symptoms at approximately the same time. Other key clinical features include recurrent visual hallucinations and fluctuations in mental status. Lewy bodies are eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions comprised mainly of alpha-synuclein, not tau protein. (See References)

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C) lesions in the mammillary bodies

This answer is incorrect.

This patient's history is consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Patients with DLB develop Parkinsonian symptoms and dementia symptoms at approximately the same time. Other key clinical features include recurrent visual hallucinations and fluctuations in mental status. Lesions in the mammillary bodies are seen in Korsakoff amnestic state. (See References)

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D) inclusions comprised primarily of alpha-synuclein

This answer is correct.

This patient's history is consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Patients with DLB develop Parkinsonian symptoms and dementia symptoms at approximately the same time. Other key clinical features include recurrent visual hallucinations and fluctuations in mental status. Lewy bodies are eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions which contain alpha-synuclein. (See References)

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E) inclusions comprised primarily of feta cheese

This answer is incorrect.

This patient's history is consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Patients with DLB develop Parkinsonian symptoms and dementia symptoms at approximately the same time. Other key clinical features include recurrent visual hallucinations and fluctuations in mental status. Lewy bodies are eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions comprised mainly of alpha-synuclein, and contain little or no cheese of any kind. (See References)

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References:

1. Victor, M., and Ropper, A.H. (2001). Adams and Victor's Principles of Neurology, 7th Edition. McGraw-Hill, New York.
2. DeKosky, S.T., Kaufer, D.I., and Lopez, O.L. (2004). The Dementias. In Bradley, W.G., Daroff, R.B., Fenichel, G.M., and Jankovic, J. (Eds.). Neurology in Clinical Practice, 4th Edition. Butterworth Heinemann, Philadelphia. Pp. 1901-1951
3. Prayson, R.A., and Goldblum, J.R. (Eds.) (2005). Neuropathology. Elsevier, Philadelphia.

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imaging
Dementia 02
Question ID: 02220701
Question written by J. Douglas Miles, (C) 2006-2009, all rights reserved.
Created: 02/22/2007
Modified: 02/22/2007
Estimated Permutations: 0