Lateral medullary infarction with cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction: an unusual presentation with review of the literature.

PURPOSE: We report an unusual case of lateral medullary infarction presenting with orthostatic hypotension with pre-syncope without vertigo or Horner's syndrome. METHODS: Case report with review of the literature. RESULTS: A 67-year-old man presented with pre-syncope and ataxia without vertigo. Initial brain CT and MRI were normal. Neurological evaluation revealed right-beating nystagmus with left gaze, vertical binocular diplopia, right upper-extremity dysmetria, truncal ataxia with right axial lateropulsion, and right-facial and lower extremity hypoesthesia. Bedside blood pressure measurements disclosed orthostatic hypotension. He had normal sinus rhythm on telemetry and normal ejection fraction on echocardiogram. A repeat brain MRI disclosed an acute right dorsolateral medullary infarct. Autonomic testing showed reduced heart rate variability during paced deep breathing, attenuated late phase II and phase IV overshoot on Valsalva maneuver, and a fall of 25 mmHg of blood pressure at the end of a 10-min head-up tilt with no significant change in heart rate. These results were consistent with impaired sympathetic and parasympathetic cardiovascular reflexes. He was discharged to acute rehabilitation a week later with residual right dysmetria and ataxia. CONCLUSION: Lateral medullary infarctions are usually reported as partial presentations of classical lateral medullary syndrome with accompanying unusual symptoms ranging from trigeminal neuralgias to hiccups. Pre-syncope from orthostatic hypotension is a rare presentation. In the first 3-4 days, absence of early DWI MRI findings is possible in small, dorsolateral medullary infarcts with sensory disturbances. Physicians should be aware of this presentation, as early diagnosis and optimal therapy are associated with good prognosis.

A novel presentation of an ocular geste antagoniste in cervical dystonia: a case report.

BACKGROUND: A geste antagoniste or sensory trick is a well described phenomenon associated with primary cervical dystonia. Craniocervical tactile stimulation or stereotyped limb movements allow patients to transiently ameliorate dystonic activation of cervical musculature. CASE REPORT: We report a patient with primary cervical dystonia who presented with a novel "ocular" geste antagoniste. Through a sensory trick of tonic left eye deviation, the patient transiently reduces cervical dystonic activity (improved range of motion and reduced dystonic tremor). Multi-channel surface electromyography and video are used to illustrate these findings. DISCUSSION: This case presents a unique clinical observation of specific voluntary eye movements attenuating cervical dystonia. The phenomenon is phenotypically consistent with previously described limb sensorimotor tricks.

Pituitary apoplexy in the setting of coronary angiography.

Pituitary apoplexy (PA) is a rare but potentially life-threatening event. Typically, it results from hemorrhage into a pituitary adenoma, although cases affecting the intact gland have been reported. PA may occur spontaneously or in a setting of certain diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The association of PA and contrast administration in the setting of neuroimaging have been postulated. The authors report a case of PA following coronary angiography. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this scenario has not been previously reported. A 66-year-old woman with a congenital septal defect underwent coronary angiography that was technically uncomplicated. After the procedure, the patient experienced retro-orbital pain and developed ophthalmoplegia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a hemorrhagic sellar mass extending into the cavernous sinus. A 3-month follow-up MRI revealed cystic changes. The patient expired 4 months later because of cardiorespiratory failure. PA in the absence of adenoma was confirmed on autopsy. The authors hypothesize that apoplexy here was related to the administration of Omnipaque in combination with the anticoagulation effect of heparin.

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy in diabetic patients.

This retrospective analysis was undertaken to determine whether a subset of diabetic patients with demyelinating polyneuropathy were similar to patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP). Ten patients meeting the clinical criteria for idiopathic CIDP were compared to nine patients with diabetes and demyelinating polyneuropathy. The diabetic patients with demyelinating polyneuropathy displayed clinical, electrophysiologic, and histologic features that were similar to those in CIDP patients. All six patients with diabetes and demyelinating polyneuropathy who were treated with immunomodulatory therapy showed a favorable response. Our study highlights the importance of investigating diabetic patients with polyneuropathy in an attempt to identify patients with demyelinating polyneuropathy, because of the likelihood of benefit in these patients from immunomodulatory treatment.