Neurology

A 30-year-old woman complains that her headaches no longer respond to triptans; instead, they have increased in frequencyand severity. The pain interferes with her ability to work part-time and to take care of her 16-month-old daughter.About 12 years earlier, the patient started having migraine headaches. She had no significant medical history, norwas there any obvious precipitating event. Typically, she had 1 or 2 debilitating headaches a month. These were accompaniedby photophobia, nausea, and vomiting-but not by auras. Oral triptans usually relieved the pain and associatedsymptoms within 1 hour.

Acamprosate calcium (Campral)from Lipha Pharmaceuticals, Inc,has been approved by the FDAfor the treatment of alcohol-dependentpersons who wish to remain alcohol-free after they have stoppeddrinking. Although its mechanismof action is not fully understood,this drug was shown to be more effectivethan placebo in maintainingabstinence. Acamprosate is nonaddictiveand has been shown to bewell tolerated in clinical trials. Themost common adverse effects areheadache, diarrhea, flatulence, andnausea.

A 72-year-old farmer is brought by his daughter for a comprehensivegeriatric assessment. His previous history is unremarkable. The patientreports that he has had vivid visual hallucinations, which he calls "visitors." He becomes frightenedand hostile when these incidents occur; on several occasions, he has exhibited violent behavioras persons around him tried to calm him. Although the patient was able to recall each episode indetail, he felt as if he had watched it from a distance and had not been an active participant.

Elderly patients with Alzheimer diseaseor dementia frequently refuseto be examined or have a physical.

A 53-year-old woman, who has a remote history of acne, says that facial rednessappears each time she has a migraine. Her migraine medication, fiorinalwith codeine, ameliorates the headache, but the erythema lingers for days.

Primary care doctor: Because of the patient’s age and theabsence of a headache history, I first considered such secondarycauses as tumor and temporal arteritis. However,MRI of the brain and erythrocyte sedimentation rate werenormal. I now suspect a sleep-related headache becausethe attacks occur only at night and awaken the patientfrom a sound sleep. How can I determine which type ofsleep-related headache is involved?

For 2 weeks, a 58-year-old woman has experienced increasingfatigue with activity. She has needed to nap duringthe day, has not been able to perform her usual activities,and has missed 3 days of work. She also complains of“muscle aches”-mainly in her back. She denies headache,dyspnea, fever, hot or cold intolerance, and alteredmentation.

Clinician: The patient’s symptom profile is confusing, especiallybecause his test results are normal. Are his amnesicepisodes related to his migraine?

A 32-year-old woman is admitted to the hospital because of nausea, vomiting,and mild jaundice. For 4 days, her health has steadily deteriorated: hepatictransaminase and bilirubin levels are elevated, prothrombin time is prolongedand, most recently, obtundation and changes in mentation have developed.Serologic studies for infection with hepatitis A, B, and C viruses are negative,as are tests for Epstein-Barr virus mononucleosis.

An 81-year-old woman is hospitalizedwith localized nonradiating low backpain of 3 weeks’ duration. She has nohistory of trauma, weakness of the legs,or urinary or bowel incontinence.

Which of these scenarios is familiarto you? •A local pharmacist calls to say thatyour patient wants another refill for thecombination analgesic containing aspirin,caffeine, and butalbital that youprescribed last week. Pharmacy recordsindicate that this patient has received250 tablets of this medication inthe last 34 days.

Q:Recent research has defined mild cognitiveimpairment as a transitional state between thecognitive changes of normal aging and Alzheimerdisease (AD) and other dementing illnesses. Whatcriteria are used to differentiate mild cognitiveimpairment from more innocuous syndromes, such asbenign senescent forgetfulness? Are patients with mildcognitive impairment considered to have incipientclinical AD?

A 60-year-old man has had anterior neck discomfort for the pastseveral weeks. He also has right-sided cephalalgia and occasional jaw discomfortwhile eating but no dysphagia or odynophagia. The cephalalgia, which hasbeen present for the past week, is moderately severe and is associated withblurred vision.

A 29-year-old woman is brought to the emergency department after a caraccident. She complains of head pain and has a contusion over the posterioraspect of the right temporal bone and right occipital bone; a small amount ofblood flows from the right external auditory canal. She has only a vague recollectionof the accident. Past medical history-although difficult to ascertain-seems noncontributory.

A 58-year-old man complains ofintermittent headaches that beganabout 2 months earlier and have recentlyincreased in severity. Theheadaches occur at various times ofthe day and improve slightly whenhe sits. He denies trauma, fever, photophobia,and other neurologicsymptoms. He has 1 alcoholic drinka day and has smoked 1 pack of cigarettesa day for the past 20 years.Medical history is noncontributory.

A 24-year-old African American man presents for a routine eye examination. Theocular findings are unremarkable; however, well-circumscribed areas of whitenedskin are noted on his forehead and hands (A and B). The patient reportsthat the patchy loss of pigment has been progressing over a number of years.

A 54-year-old Hispanic housewife presents to the emergencydepartment with a 3-week history of moderatelysevere, progressive, generalized, pulsating headache.The headache, which is partially relieved by propoxyphenenapsylate, is associated with weakness, vomiting of recentonset, and intermittent bilateral blurred vision. The symptomsbegan after an incident in which the patient’s sonwas stabbed.

A 40-year-old woman reports increasingly frequent and severe headaches during the past few months. She has had boutsof severe headaches since college, and episodic migraine was diagnosed a decade ago. She uses over-the-counter products(ibuprofen, ketoprofen, or aspirin) at the onset of an attack; if these fail to relieve symptoms, she takes hydrocodone/acetaminophen. During her worst attacks, she is typically forced to halt her activities, is unable to eat or drink, and mayvomit. For unresponsive or persistent (more than 24-hour) attacks, her husband drives her to the urgent care centerfor intravenous hydration, intramuscular promethazine, and additional doses of hydrocodone/acetaminophen. Accordingto the patient, a visit to the urgent care center “completely ruins our day.”

An 84-year-old woman presents with a 3-year history of slowly progressivememory impairment accompanied by functional decline. Thepatient lives alone but has been receiving an increasing amount of support from her 2 daughters,who accompany her to the appointment. The daughters first noticed that their mother was havingtrouble driving. About a year ago, she started forgetting family recipes. She also left food cookingon the stove unattended and burned several pans. Currently, the daughters are providing mealsand transportation, assisting with housework, and doing their mother’s laundry. They have becomeincreasingly alarmed because she takes her medications only sporadically, despite the factthat they fill her pillboxes and call her regularly with reminders. Their chief concern is whether itis safe for their mother to continue to live alone.

A 45-year-old man has a history of migraine that started shortly after puberty. The headaches became more frequent andsevere 3 years ago, when the patient was promoted from metal worker to shift boss.

A39-year-old man is brought to theemergency department (ED)after his car struck a tree. He experienceda transient loss of consciousnesswith a 3-minute episode of retrogradeamnesia at the scene of the accident,despite wearing a seat belt andshoulder harness. He was disorientedto date and place.

An 84-year-old woman presents with a 3-year history of slowly progressivememory impairment accompanied by functional decline. Thepatient lives alone but has been receiving an increasing amount of support from her 2 daughters,who accompany her to the appointment. The daughters first noticed that their mother was havingtrouble driving. About a year ago, she started forgetting family recipes. She also left food cookingon the stove unattended and burned several pans. Currently, the daughters are providing mealsand transportation, assisting with housework, and doing their mother’s laundry. They have becomeincreasingly alarmed because she takes her medications only sporadically, despite the factthat they fill her pillboxes and call her regularly with reminders. Their chief concern is whether itis safe for their mother to continue to live alone.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Use it or lose it applies to the brain, according to a study of nearly 3,000 persons of Medicare-age living independently in the community.

I enjoyed Dr Henry Schneiderman’s “What’s Your Diagnosis?” case of an elderly woman with severe facial ecchymoses from a fall. Would Dr Schneiderman elaborate on several points about that case? This woman did not trip or complain of dizziness before she fell. What caused her to fall?

Is it appropriate to routinely order urinalysis for patients in a nursing home (both with and without dementia) when they exhibit behavioral changes but show no signs or symptoms of urinary tract infection (UTI)?

A 49-year-old man presents with recurring facial pain of 6 months' duration. The pain initially occurred several times per week; it now occurs as often as several times per day. The paroxysmal pain is intense and incapacitating but abates within several minutes. It occurs in the right maxillary region and lower jaw and is sharp and lancinating. Hard chewing and teeth cleaning are the usual precipitating events. Between episodes, the patient is asymptomatic, without numbness or deficit in the affected region.

The false sensation of bugs crawling on or within the skin is a sensory hallucination commonly associated with psychostimulant drugs. It was first reported in chronic cocaine users in 1889. Patients with this disorder often have self-induced dermatosis caused by intense picking and scratching of the skin.

A 28-year-old man is hospitalized because of highfever with rigors and chills and rapid weight loss(5.4 kg [12 lb] in 2 weeks). During the past 48 hours,generalized throbbing headache, intermittent vomiting,blurry vision, and seizures have developed. The progressiveseizures started in the left hand and have becomegeneralized grand mal.

A 37-year-old woman complains of frequent, severe headaches. She describes the pain as a pressure-like feeling that is usually located at the top of her head and occasionally spreads to one of her temples; she rates its intensity as 9 on a 10-point visual analog scale. The pain becomes throbbing when she tries to engage in any kind of physical activity.

The patient is a 47-year-old white woman with frequent, intensely painful unilateral or bilateral headaches that occur behind her left eye or temporal area. These headaches cause throbbing pain that lasts about 40 to 50 minutes: the patient rates the pain severity as a 7 or 8 on a 10-point visual analog scale.