Natalie Focha 27 November 2012 NS M101A Clinical Correlation 2 Clinical Correlation #2: Neurological Diseases In our second and

last clinical correlation, Dr. Carmichael a neurologist who researches brain repair after injury, introduced Mr. Bridges to the class. Usually, the most useful information that allows neurologists to diagnose their patients relatively easier is conversation between the doctor and patient and any relatives that have witnessed the patients symptoms. Therefore, to present Mr. Bridges case to our class, Dr. Carmichael began a conversation with Mr. Bridges about the timing and tempo of Mr. Bridges condition before the diagnosis was discovered. Mr. Bridges troubles began in 2006 with intense pain in his lower back that led to an emergency back surgery in 2007 for his hernia disc. However, after his surgery the pain became even worse, extending into his legs. Another common symptom or a hernia disc developed in October 2007 called drunk foot where Mr. Bridges became difficult to push while walking. This symptom is most often created by a lumbar neuron (the L5 lumbar root) in the dorsal spinal cord. In addition, Mr. Bridges began to experience muscle spasms that would sometimes reach his face or head. In 2010, numbness, starting at his foot and sometimes traveling up to his face ruled out the damaged hernia disc theory and neurologists decided that the pain was localized above the spinal cord, affecting the face and arms. Finally, in 2012, Mr. Bridges began to erratically lose his ability to control the mouse of his computer. As he is employed as a software designer, this became a large problem in his everyday life. One day he experienced a sudden, uncontrollable shaking that began in his foot and continued to his hand paired with a difficulty in breathing, called a pure motor seizure, caused by an abnormal burst of hyperactivity in the brain. Paramedics, under the impression that Mr. Bridges had a stroke, transport Mr. Bridges to the Ronald Regan Hospital. At the hospital, a magnetic resonance imaging device (MRI) was used take an axial image of his brain which revealed a cerebral edema behind and pressing on the motor strip, causing the pain and symptoms that Mr. Bridges had experienced so far. Brain surgery was performed and the tumor was removed. After surgery, Mr. Bridges woke feeling worse than he had at the beginning of his surgery, a common experience after brain surgery. Mr. Bridges was advised to be more active the area of the brain that was performed on during surgery (the motor strip) as this allows the recovery process to be even more successful. At present, Mr. Bridges legs have recovered easier than his arms because the leg motor is higher on the motor cortex then the arm control portion; thus, the tumors placement affected its function less than the arms. However, he is progressively recovering and there is high hope that Mr. Bridges will gain full capacity of all his extremities in the future.