Wearing on Her Nerves Exploring the Interrelation Between...

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SC CE Wearing on Her Nerves: Exploring the Interrelation between the Nervous and Muscular Systems by Kathleen G. Brown, Nursing Department Sharon S. Ellerton, Biological Sciences and Geology Queensborough Community College, City University of New York Part I – Rise and Shine? Kathy, a 20-year-old woman, awakens one morning to a tingling, numb sensation covering both of her feet. This has happened to her a number of times throughout the year. In the past, when experiencing this sensation, within a couple of days to a week the numbness would subside, and so she is not too concerned. About a week later, she notices that the numbness and tingling not only persists, but has also spread†¦show more content†¦How is contraction ended? Ach is released and binds to receptors on the motor end plate, then an action potential is produced which releases Ca+. The Ca+ binds to troponin, then myosin binds to actin to form crossbridges. The myosin pulls the actin then releases from actin and ADP is bound to the myosin. 6. Are Kathy’s medical problems related to her sensory neurons, motor neurons, or both? What in Kathy’s medical history supports your answer? Kathys medical problems are related to both her sensory neurons and her motor neurons. Her sensory neurons because when she scrapes her knee she does not feel the pain, and her motor neurons because she cannot stand up. Part II – Diagnosis and Treatment Kathy realizes that she cannot wait until her appointment to receive medical care; she quickly goes to the emergency room. After a mountain of questions about Kathy’s symptoms and medical history, the doctors decide to admit her for further testing. She is transferred to the neurology unit and the doctors request she undergo a series of laboratory tests, including an MRI and a spinal tap. In the meantime, the doctors prescribe high dosages of steroids to help alleviate the symptoms. Upon reviewing Kathy’s medical history and the results of the various laboratory tests, the neurologists diagnose her with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). They explain to Kathy that MS is an autoimmune disease and that her own immune system has been attacking