BNKN602 MAIN EXAMS TEST 2025/2026 QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+ TIP
✔✔Parkinson's Disease - ✔✔A disorder of the central nervous system which causes
impaired motor function (unintentional and uncontrolled movements, such as shaking,
tremors, stiffness)
- Affects the pigmented dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra and locus
ceruteus of the basal ganglia.
- Degeneration of neurons are associated with impaired motor function.
✔✔Parkinson's Disease pathophysiology - ✔✔- Basal ganglia compromised
- Degeneration of nigrostriatal pathway
- Reduction of dopamine (neurotransmitter)
- Imbalance between excitatory (acetylcholine) and inhibitory (dopamine) neural motor
pathways
- Neurons change pigment colour and atrophy - some contain Lewy Bodies (protein)
- Impairment of extrapyramidal tracts controlling complex body movement
✔✔What part of the brain is affected in Parkinson's disease? - ✔✔Substantia niagra of
the basal ganglia (which controls movement, motor learning etc.) is compromised
✔✔Clinical manifestations (S+S) of Parkinson's Disease - ✔✔- Tremor
- Rigidity
- Bradykinesia (slowness of movement and speed)
- Postural instability (problems with balance & coordination)
✔✔Epilepsy - ✔✔A disorder of the brain characterised by seizures (A disorder in which
nerve cell activity is disturbed, causing seizures)
✔✔Stroke pathophysiology - ✔✔Damage to the brain as a result of interrupted blood
flow to the brain either due to a blockage of an artery (ischaemic stroke) or
rupture/leaking of a blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke)
✔✔Clinical manifestations (S+S) of Stroke - ✔✔- Numbness or weakness in the face,
arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
- Trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech.
, - Problems with vision
- Difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination.
✔✔Stroke aetiology - modifiable contributing factors - ✔✔- Hypertension
- When a blood clot blocks the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain > clots typically
form in areas where the arteries have been narrowed or blocked over time by fatty
deposits
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Smoking
- Physical inactivity
✔✔Stroke aetiology - non-modifiable contributing factors - ✔✔- Age (more common in
over 55 year olds)
- Ethnicity
- Gender
- Genetics
✔✔Ischaemic stroke - ✔✔- blood vessel occluded = blood flow interrupted = tissue
ischaemia
✔✔Cerebral embolism - ✔✔Occurs when a blood clot or debris formed somewhere else
in the body is carried in the blood stream & travels to the brain
= interrupted blood flow = tissue ischaemia
✔✔Cerebral thrombosis - ✔✔Is a narrowing of the cerebral arteries caused by plaque
build-up.
A clot then forms on the plaque, occluding the vessel lumen and restricting blood flow to
an area of the brain. Tissue ischaemia results if not thrombolysed.
✔✔Haemorrhagic stroke - ✔✔A burst blood vessel will cause blood to leak into brain
tissue and surrounding structures
causing → a rise in ICP and damage to brain tissue
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+ TIP
✔✔Parkinson's Disease - ✔✔A disorder of the central nervous system which causes
impaired motor function (unintentional and uncontrolled movements, such as shaking,
tremors, stiffness)
- Affects the pigmented dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra and locus
ceruteus of the basal ganglia.
- Degeneration of neurons are associated with impaired motor function.
✔✔Parkinson's Disease pathophysiology - ✔✔- Basal ganglia compromised
- Degeneration of nigrostriatal pathway
- Reduction of dopamine (neurotransmitter)
- Imbalance between excitatory (acetylcholine) and inhibitory (dopamine) neural motor
pathways
- Neurons change pigment colour and atrophy - some contain Lewy Bodies (protein)
- Impairment of extrapyramidal tracts controlling complex body movement
✔✔What part of the brain is affected in Parkinson's disease? - ✔✔Substantia niagra of
the basal ganglia (which controls movement, motor learning etc.) is compromised
✔✔Clinical manifestations (S+S) of Parkinson's Disease - ✔✔- Tremor
- Rigidity
- Bradykinesia (slowness of movement and speed)
- Postural instability (problems with balance & coordination)
✔✔Epilepsy - ✔✔A disorder of the brain characterised by seizures (A disorder in which
nerve cell activity is disturbed, causing seizures)
✔✔Stroke pathophysiology - ✔✔Damage to the brain as a result of interrupted blood
flow to the brain either due to a blockage of an artery (ischaemic stroke) or
rupture/leaking of a blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke)
✔✔Clinical manifestations (S+S) of Stroke - ✔✔- Numbness or weakness in the face,
arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
- Trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech.
, - Problems with vision
- Difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination.
✔✔Stroke aetiology - modifiable contributing factors - ✔✔- Hypertension
- When a blood clot blocks the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain > clots typically
form in areas where the arteries have been narrowed or blocked over time by fatty
deposits
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Smoking
- Physical inactivity
✔✔Stroke aetiology - non-modifiable contributing factors - ✔✔- Age (more common in
over 55 year olds)
- Ethnicity
- Gender
- Genetics
✔✔Ischaemic stroke - ✔✔- blood vessel occluded = blood flow interrupted = tissue
ischaemia
✔✔Cerebral embolism - ✔✔Occurs when a blood clot or debris formed somewhere else
in the body is carried in the blood stream & travels to the brain
= interrupted blood flow = tissue ischaemia
✔✔Cerebral thrombosis - ✔✔Is a narrowing of the cerebral arteries caused by plaque
build-up.
A clot then forms on the plaque, occluding the vessel lumen and restricting blood flow to
an area of the brain. Tissue ischaemia results if not thrombolysed.
✔✔Haemorrhagic stroke - ✔✔A burst blood vessel will cause blood to leak into brain
tissue and surrounding structures
causing → a rise in ICP and damage to brain tissue
