Skip to main content
 

Headaches, Mood Swings, and Dropping Things

Differential Diagnosis of a Nervous System Disorder

By Patrick R. Field, Diana Colgan, Catherine Potok

Headaches, Mood Swings, and Dropping Things


 

Abstract

This interrupted case study walks students through the stages of determining a diagnosis for a neural condition/disease in a 62-year-old female. The case includes the medical history, presenting signs and symptoms, pre-diagnoses, evaluation/observations, testing, analysis of the results from testing, narrowing the differential diagnosis, and the final diagnosis. In order to successfully complete the case, students will need to learn about the epidemiology, signs and symptoms, pathophysiology, diagnostic testing, and results of testing of several neural conditions/diseases including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Guillian-Barre syndrome, Huntington’s disease, hydrocephalus, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, primary amebic meningoencephalitis, and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Students will create a table encompassing the characteristics of these diseases, completing it with the information provided in each stage to narrow down the diagnostic possibilities until the final diagnosis. By the end of the activity, students will understand that overlapping characteristics among these neural conditions/diseases increases the difficulty of reaching a final diagnosis. This case should be beneficial for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a future career in the allied health professions.

   

Date Posted

02/14/2019

Overview

Objectives

  • Discuss a variety of neural diseases and neural conditions that affect the brain that are caused by genetic, autoimmune, infectious and environmental factors.
  • Apply the steps of the typical diagnostic procedure: the medical history, signs/symptoms, evaluation/observations, testing, analyses of the results from tests and the final diagnosis.
  • Analyze and differentiate the epidemiology, signs and symptoms, pathophysiology, diagnostic procedures and treatment methods of neurological disorders when narrowing down the differential diagnosis to final diagnosis.

Keywords

Differential diagnosis; neural disease; neural condition; Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; Guillian-Barre syndrome; Huntington's disease; hydrocephalus; multiple sclerosis; Parkinson's disease; meningoencephalitis; panencephalitis

  

Subject Headings

Epidemiology
Medicine (General)
Neuroscience

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

Undergraduate upper division, Graduate, Clinical education

  

FORMAT

PDF

   

TOPICAL AREAS

N/A

   

LANGUAGE

English

   

TYPE/METHODS

Discussion, Interrupted

 

 

Asset 2