Clinical Presentation of Tumors With Neurologic Involvement Tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) have protean manifestations. Although they commonly present with focal neurologic findings, they can often be more insidious in onset, with more subtle manifestations. Intracranial tumors (benign…
Overview of Autoimmune Disorders Autoimmune disorders rely on clinical diagnosis including localization. However, there is no specific examination finding that indicates autoimmune pathogenesis. The diagnosis of most autoimmune disorders is syndromic and is supported by careful examination, laboratory studies, and…
Approach to Differential Diagnosis Assessment of the Visual Disturbance Visual disturbance usually falls into one of several categories but sometimes it is in more than one category, depending on whether visual loss is accompanied by other deficits. Types of visual…
The diagnosis of headache depends on the report of head pain and on a specific classification of the headache depending on details of the history and examination. Headache is classified as primary or secondary. Principles The brain itself has no…
Clinical Presentations of Neuromuscular Disorders Neuromuscular conditions produce motor and/or sensory disturbance, but the key to suspicion of this localization is the history and examination. To illustrate, the findings in the following scenarios direct the search to a neuromuscular process.…
Classification of Seizures and Epilepsy A seizure is a set of clinical symptoms due to abnormal electrical activity of the brain. Epilepsy is a syndrome where there have been recurrent unprovoked seizures or a single unprovoked seizure with findings to…
Introduction Stroke is the most common serious neurologic disorder, the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and second in the world, and the most common cause of neurologic disability in adults. Over 800,000 strokes occur each year…
Overview For multisystem disorders, the diagnosis often depends on identifying the combination of neurologic and nonneurologic manifestations. For example, neuropathy plus macrocytic anemia should raise concern for B12 or folate deficiency. Confusion, neuropathy, and gastrointestinal (GI) distress might raise concern…
Sensory Systems Localization Two pathways, the dorsal columns and the spinothalamic tract, carry sensory information from the periphery to the brain, and they carry two distinct sets of information. Dorsal Columns The dorsal columns pathway is responsible for fine touch…
Motor System Localization Identification and description of motor deficits is critical for the understanding of neurologic localization. The assessment of the presence of weakness and other motor deficits provides an excellent basis for approaching the localization of brain lesions. Elements…