INTERESTING TIMES

What presents with acute ascending paralysis bilaterally, starting in the feet?
GBS

What infectious agent do you suspect if your pt presents with bilateral facial neuropathy?
Borrelia burgdorferi

What's a common incorrect treatment for trigeminal neuralgia?
dentists pull teeth unnecessarily

( Self-quiz from Miller's notes )

What causes ovarian cysts?
--ETIO: hormone imbalance, ov CA, mets, smoking, low BMI, early menarche, infert (4x), hypothyroid, neonatal cysts (common in babies of moms w/ DM, toxemia and Rh immunization)
--RISK factors: tamoxifen tx (10% incr risk), smoking (0-2x incr in incidence), hx of cysts
( self quiz based on SSL's review sheet, and notes )

What does pituitary mean, from the Latin? (think onomatopoeia...)
to spit mucus
ptuo = to spit, pituita = mucus

What do you call a hormone that acts on neighboring cells?
paracrine

Are pituitary hormones steroid, steroid type, or peptide hormones?
peptide, all of them are

What do you call the loss of lateral visual fields?
bitemporal hemianopsia

Damage to what part of the pituitary causes diabetes insipidus, and which hormone is lacking?
( self quiz from SSL's notes )

What is the most common primary tumor of the heart?
--atrial myxoma (rare, pedunculated tumor that can occlude valves, cause murmurs)
--congenital, assoc w/ Carney's syndrome

More common than the myxoma is a metastasis to the heart from what malignancy?
--melanoma
( quiz and notes on heart dz )

quiz:
What kind of cancer is it "better" to have, fast or slow growing?
( answer, rationale, notes )

What thyroid condition causes a persistent sore throat with a painful thyroid and fever?
Dequervain or giant cell thyroiditis, aka subacute granulomatous thyroiditis
more in women 10-40???

An elder whose CHF has just gotten worse may have what thyroid condition?
"apathetic" hypothyroidism

If someone just had a coxsackie virus infection and now is hyperthyroid, what do you suspect?
( self quiz, use the scroll bar to see what you know, this info integrated, moved post to 2008 for archive )