The FrontalCortex question bank is free for everyone, everywhere.

Dementia 02

Topic: Imaging

Created on Thursday, February 22 2007 by jdmiles

Last modified on Thursday, February 22 2007.

A 85 year-old male presents to your office accompanied by his son, who provides most of the history.
The son states that for the past 3 years, the patient has complained of stiffness, lost his balance a few times, has complained of a tremor in his hands, has been forgetting things more frequently, has been seeing visions of silly magenta blackbirds, and occasionally will stare off into space for long periods of time.
Which of the following pathology findings is MOST characteristic of this patient's disease?

A) Amyloid plaques

B) Inclusions comprised primarily of Huntingtin

C) Inclusions comprised primarily of alpha-synuclein

D) Eosinophilic nuclear inclusions

E) Inclusions comprised primarily of tau protein

	= Go back to the top of the page.
	= Reload a different version of this question ().
	= Load a random question from the database.
	= Use this question as a template to create a totally NEW question.
	= Enter detailed rating for this question!
Average rating not yet available	= How users like you have rated this question.

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

ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS

A) amyloid plaques

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. Amyloid plaques are seen in DLB, but widespread Lewy bodies are a more defining feature. (See References)

					Average rating not yet available
Please log in if you want to rate questions.

B) inclusions comprised primarily of Huntingtin

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. Huntingtin is a protein associated with Huntington chorea. (See References)

					Average rating not yet available
Please log in if you want to rate questions.

C) 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)

					Average rating not yet available
Please log in if you want to rate questions.

D) eosinophilic nuclear inclusions

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. (See References)

					Average rating not yet available
Please log in if you want to rate questions.

E) 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)

					Average rating not yet available
Please log in if you want to rate questions.

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.

					Average rating not yet available
Please log in if you want to rate questions.

FrontalCortex.com -- Neurology Review Questions -- Neurology Boards -- Board Review -- Residency Inservice Training Exam -- RITE Exam Review
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