Case Information
Annie is a swimmer for her college. Recently, she has experienced decreased performance in the pool, resulting in slower times even though she has been working hard in practice. Additionally, she has been plagued with blurry vision and eye strain. Her eye strain has become progressively worse over the last month. Any typing done for school makes her fingers ache and feel weak, and sometimes they seem to not function at all. Simple physical activities such as walking a flight of stairs makes her feel extremely fatigued and leaves her gasping for air. On top of these symptoms, she is constantly tired.
Due to her symptoms, Annie decided to see her family doctor who referred her to a neurologist. After running a series of test, the neurologist determined that Annies nerve function was normal as there was no evidence for nerve fatigue and the nerve conduction velocity was fine. However, when testing the muscle, it was determined that the muscle response decreased quickly during repeated nerve stimulation. This suggested that muscle response fatigued. Lab tests were performed as well in order to reach a diagnosis. When an edrophonium test was performed, Annie reported feeling much better, but only for a short period of time. Additionally, when looking at Annies blood work, it was determined that there were an abnormally high level of antibodies in her blood. It was also discovered that Annie has a tumor on her thymus.
Case Study Guidelines
You will be responsible for writing a 2-3 page response to this case. Your case study should not exceed 3 pages. Similar to case study #1, you will need to conduct background research in order to complete this assignment, providing appropriate information to support your diagnosis. You must use a minimum of two references, one of which must be your Lt background information. Your report should be type-written in 12- point font, double-spaced, and have 1 14-inch left and right margins and 1-inch top and bottom margins. Spelling, grammar and quality of writing will count! All writing should be in the correct tense and in the passive voice (i.e. do not use the terms I or We). You must submit a Word doc or docx file. Other file types will not be accepted. For more information, please be sure to refer to the Guidelines for Case Studies document posted in Canvas and provided to you in class.
1
Title: Include a title meaningful to the case study, your name, the course, the section number and the date.
Introduction: Using background information gathered on the presented topic, write an introduction for your case study. Dont simply lay out the required information, be sure to tie your introduction together and include proper transitions. You should not be moving through your introduction as if it is a list. In a narrative format, be sure to provide details on the following:
2. Define muscle fatigue and describe some of the causes of this condition.
3. Describe the neuromuscular junction. Be sure to include details regarding the anatomy and
physiology of the neuromuscular junction, describing how an action potential and acetycholine
are involved in this junction.
4. Describe Electromyography. What does it show?
5. Briefly describe the function of antibodies. Additionally, define what antigens are and what role
they play in antibody production.
Diagnosis: Based on the information provided regarding the patient, please diagnosis her condition. In your diagnosis, please describe how her symptoms and medical tests led you to this conclusion. What specific tests may have been performed in order to diagnose the patient? Be sure to apply the information you learned in lab in order to complete the diagnosis.
Prognosis and Medical Treatment Plan: Based on the diagnosis, describe the patients prognosis and any necessary long term medical treatment. In what ways would the outlook for the patient be different if no treatment was provided? How would no treatment impact daily life?
Conclusion: Synthesize the information provided in your case study. Be sure to adequately wrap up the information presented and highlight the important details from your report.
References: The citation style used in the natural sciences is the CSE (Council of Science Editors) citation style. Please refer to the bottom of page 2 of the Guidelines for Case Studies document provided to you in class and posted in Canvas. Direct quotes may not be used. All information used from another source must be paraphrased and cited appropriately (both within the text and the reference section).