Tzu Chi Medical Journal
Volume 20, Issue 2 , Pages 136-139, June 2008

Isolated Abducens Nerve Palsy Due to Anterolateral Pontomedullary Infarction in a Young Adult

  • Shao-Yin Chu

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Pao-Sheng Yen

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiology, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Yuan-Chieh Lee

      Affiliations

    • Department of Ophthalmology, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan
    • Department of Medicine and Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan
    • Department of Ophthalmology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Dr Yuan-Chieh Lee, Department of Ophthalmology, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, 707, Section 3, Chung-Yang Road, Hualien, Taiwan

Received 24 August 2007; received in revised form 2 October 2007; accepted 11 November 2007.

Article Outline

Abstract 

A 24-year-old woman suffered from headache for several days, and then binocular diplopia occurred. On examination, she demonstrated signs of right abducens nerve palsy. General examination was unremarkable. A detailed neurological examination was normal, revealing no evidence of brain stem dysfunction. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated hyperintensities in the right upper anterolateral medulla on T2weighted images and diffusion-weighted images. Her diplopia resolved in 2 months. Ophthalmological examination revealed complete recovery. Follow-up MRI revealed hyperintensities in the right anterolateral lower pons and upper medulla. A complete MRI study should be considered in nontraumatic isolated abducens palsy, which includes thin sections through the nucleus and fascicle of the abducens nerve.

Keywords:  Abducens palsy , Magnetic resonance imaging , Pontomedullary infarction

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PII: S1016-3190(08)60024-5

doi:10.1016/S1016-3190(08)60024-5

Tzu Chi Medical Journal
Volume 20, Issue 2 , Pages 136-139, June 2008

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