Q) Which electrolyte abnormalities can lead to constipation?
My friend says calcium.
Yes, hypercalcemia.
He screamed in my ear because he got excited :L
Hahaha
Hypercalcemia
Hypermagnesemia
Hypokalemia
Hypophophatemia
How does hypercalcemia lead to constipation??
Hypercalcemia increases the action potential threshold and hence decreased contraction n peristalsis.
Sounds good!! Thanks!!
Learnt some new words today!
Chionablepsia - its inflammation of eyes due to UV rays!
What a word. I can't even pronounce it!
And this word has no -itis😃
They should've come up with uv-eye-itis instead! :P
Hehe
One more!
Anisakiasis !
A parasitic infection by anisakid (nematodes)
What does this parasite infect?
Stomach walls!
Caused by ingestion of larvae...say, by consuming infected squid or fish
Since it affects the stomach walls, wouldn't bleeding or abdominal pain be most prominent symptoms?
Nothing special ....abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
Oh alright!
A few medical conditions have presentations that are more or less the same to a layman but in reality, are polar opposites of each other. There are though, a few subtle clues which help in differentiating these conditions. Some of them are as follows-
1. The Somogyi effect and the dawn phenomenon.
These are the conditions which occur in diabetic patients which are undergoing treatment.
In the Somogyi effect, there is a rebound hyperglycemia (in the mornings) following hypoglycemia(during the night) due to the release of counter regulatory hormones.
On the other hand,the dawn phenomenon is characterized by morning hyperglycemia due to inadequate insulin dosage. It may be a possibility that the raised blood sugar is due to nocturnal GH release or increased insulin clearance in the mornings.
So, what does the patient think? That the treatment is not working, is inadequate, but the reality may be starkly different.
To pinpoint, the patient may be asked whether he feels excessive hunger during the night, experiences persistent nightmares or any other symptom during night pertaining to hypoglycemia.
3am and morning blood samples reveal hypo and hyperglycemia in the case of Somogyi effect, while hyperglycemia both the times with dawn phenomenon.
Hence, the modification in Somogyi effect is actually to decrease the insulin dose and increasing it if the patient has dawn phenomenon.
2. Anorexia and Bulimia nervosa.
Both these conditions are characterised by the patient having weight concerns and multiple episodes of self induced vomiting ,laxative abuse or extreme exercise and fasting.One might get confused as to what exactly is the underlying condition.
The primary difference between the two according to me is the patient's attitude and the quantity of food consumed.
Anorexics are primarily worried about their weight(they tend to be ballet dancers or actresses) and hence consume very less amount of food to begin with and vomit out or use laxatives to get rid of whatever is consumed. The patient tends to be almost emaciated, they have a distortion of the bodily image and beliefs that they are still overweight.
Bulimia patients too, engage in similar kinds of behaviours to lose calories but these are more driven out of guilt rather than extreme weight concerns,they usually have a normal weight.The patients have a sense of achievement that they can eat whatever they want and in any quantity until they are losing calories through vomiting, excessive exercise or laxative abuse. Contrary to anorexia, patients have episodes of binge eating then compensatory behaviours followed by hunger and then again binge eating.
What is the difference between an antibody and an antitoxin? Wikipedia says that antitoxin is also an antibody. But what's the difference between the two?
And if we take a vaccine, what is formed-an antibody or an antitoxin?
My understanding is a toxin cam be an antigen. An antigen is not necessarily a toxin. So an antitoxin can be an antibody, but not all antibodies are antitoxins.
Anti-toxin is something that neutralizes the toxins released by bacteria. Ex: Tetanospasmin released by Cl. tetani.
These conditions are life threatening acutely.. So you give pre-formed anti-toxin from horse serum or from multiple plasma donors.
Anti-toxin are antibodies. But you need to remember it is especially for neutralizing toxins released by bacteria.
Whereas, antibody is a very vast term. They can be formed against the cellwall of bacteria as well as one's own antigens (autoimmunity).
Multiple plasma donour means from many organisms?
When people donate blood, the antibodies from several of these people's blood is collected and given
Good explanation, Sakkan!
Which is the classical triad of aspirin poisoning?
Idk the triad though... I just know some symptoms.
What are the symptoms?
Dehydration
Petechiae
Fever
The triad is hyperpyrexia, confusion and later death.
Death? :O
A very rare case.
Death is due to Respiratory collapse.
Fever? A drug used for pyrexia causes fever :D
Haha ironic, yes.
Pyrexia because of uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation.
Yep. The energy in ATP gets disseminated in the form heat.
What is the treatment of aspirin overdose?
No specific antidote.
Symptomatic.. Cooling.
Vit k - For petechiae.
Increasing urine pH.
Right on! Aspirin is a weak acid.. Hence you increase its ionization to reduce absorption.. By giving sodium bicarbonate!
Yes!! Alkaline diuresis it's called!
Aspirin you just manage patient. Give iv fluid, increase urine pH, dialysis.
Dose of aspirin for prevention of MI?
Dose of aspirin in ongoing MI?
For prevention it is 81-160
For ongoing.. It is 160-325
Moving on
Why salicylates are contraindicated in children?
Reyes syndrome. They result in increase in liver transaminases plus encephalopathy.
Especially, when used for kids with viral fever.
I just came to know that One of the important side effects Cycloserine is suicidal tendencies!
And Cycloserine is used in MDR TB.
Exactly.
Does it have any other uses? Apart from TB?
Mental retardation... I searched online.
Hmm.
The person with MDR TB...Dies of suicide more often.
Now we know why!
No other infections?
Certain UTIs. It's antimicrobial action is due to inhibition of bacterial cell wall.
I see.
Characteristic lymph nodes in diseases:
Matted- Tuberculosis, LGV
Rubbery- Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Shotty- Syphilis.
Hard, fixed - Malignancy.
Do you know any more? Let us know in the comments section below!
Does anyone know what biceps femoris reflex is?
Biceps femoris reflex is a highly sensitive and reliable clinical tool for evaluation of the S1 spinal reflex pathway in radiculopathy.
It's the contraction of biceps femoris muscle when it is tapped on the lower part of its head just above its attachment on the head of fibula, with the limb slightly flexed at hip and knee.
Hope this helps :)
Thanks!
Can anyone please explain why Serum ACE is elevated in Sarcoidosis?
ACE activity is increased in sarcoidosis, a systemic granulomatous disease that commonly affects the lungs. In sarcoidosis, ACE is thought to be produced by epithelioid cells and macrophages of the granuloma.
Serum ACE also appears to reflect the activity of the disease so we can estimate the severity or response to treatment..
You mean : Higher the ACE level , more the disease severity?
Yes.. Higher the level more the severity.
Got it . Thank yoh!
Both TB and sarcoidosis has increased levels of Adenosine Deaminase but Sarcoidosis can be distinguished from tuberculosis by serum ACE levels (In tuberculosis, decreased levels of serum ACE.)
Woah.
Review question-
Which drug is used for neurological manifestations of Wilson's disease?
Penicillamine (cuprimine and depen) and trientine (syprine and trientine dihydrochloride).
Both of these drugs act by chelation of binding of copper, causing it's increased urinary excretion.
Yes, but any specific drug for neurological involvement?
It's Ammonium tetrathiomolybdate.
Hey everyone! Long time no see!
I was requested mnemonics for glycogen storage diseases recently so I thought I'd write about it -
Glycogen storage diseases from 1-6 are:
von Gierke's disease
Pompe's disease.
Cori's disease
Anderson’s disease
McArdles disease
Hers disease
The memory aid for remembering this one is actually a dirty mnemonic, I found it on tumblr (Can't remember where I read it!)
Anyway the mnemonic is -
Viagra
Pills
Cause
A
Massive
Hardon
Also, heart pumps (Pomps) blood. So that's how you can remember that the heart is affected in Pompe's disease!
And for the enzymes -
Glycogen storage disease type 1 mnemonic:
Geirke - Glucose 6 phosphatase. Both have a G!
Glycogen storage disease type 2 mnemonic:
The Pompe's disease mnemonic is a drag but for whoever this helps.. Do you guys know about the volcanic eruption in Pompeii?
The fires of Pompeii makes me think of acid (burns-fire-acid?) and how it killed children.
So acid alpha-glucosidase and affects children!
Glycogen storage disease type 3 and 4 mnemonic:
Mnemonic for Anderson’s and Cori’s is, "ABCD"
A-B(ranching)
Anderson’s - Branching enzyme.
C-D(ebranching)
Cori’s - Debranching enzyme.
Glycogen storage disease type 5 mnemonic:
Muscle phosphorylase for McArdles. Both have a M in the name!
Glycogen storage disease type 6 mnemonic:
LivHER. So Liver phosphorylase is affected in Hers disease.
That's all!
Hope you're having a wonderful time and see you in the next post xo
-IkaN
