03-03-2008, 08:34 PM
15. A 72-year-old man is brought to the physician
by his son because
of a 4-day history of increasing confusion and memory
problems. The
son says that his father's ability to function
independently has been
generally declining over the past few years, and he
has become much more
impaired over the past week. The patient has had at
least three to four
previous episodes of a sudden decline of cognitive
functioning over the
past 3 years without full recovery. He has a history
of hypertension.
His blood pressure is 160/95 mm Hg without orthostatic
changes.
Neurologic examination shows no focal findings.
Mini-Mental State Examination
score is 21/30. Which of the following is the most
likely underlying
pathophysiologic process?
A
) Central nervous system demyelination
B
) Central nervous system infection
C
) Diffuse axonal injury
D
) Diffuse cortical atrophy
E
) Left temporal lobe infarction
F
) Multiple, small, central nervous system
infarctions
G
) Subdural hematoma
by his son because
of a 4-day history of increasing confusion and memory
problems. The
son says that his father's ability to function
independently has been
generally declining over the past few years, and he
has become much more
impaired over the past week. The patient has had at
least three to four
previous episodes of a sudden decline of cognitive
functioning over the
past 3 years without full recovery. He has a history
of hypertension.
His blood pressure is 160/95 mm Hg without orthostatic
changes.
Neurologic examination shows no focal findings.
Mini-Mental State Examination
score is 21/30. Which of the following is the most
likely underlying
pathophysiologic process?
A
) Central nervous system demyelination
B
) Central nervous system infection
C
) Diffuse axonal injury
D
) Diffuse cortical atrophy
E
) Left temporal lobe infarction
F
) Multiple, small, central nervous system
infarctions
G
) Subdural hematoma