Brainstem stroke syndrome

Brainstem stroke
Specialty	Neurology

A brainstem stroke syndrome falls under the broader category of , or specific symptoms caused by vascular injury to an area of brain (for example, the lacunar syndromes). As the brainstem contains numerous cranial nuclei and white matter tracts, a stroke in this area can have a number of unique symptoms depending on the particular blood vessel that was injured and the group of cranial nerves and tracts that are no longer perfused. Symptoms of a brainstem stroke frequently include sudden vertigo and ataxia, with or without weakness. Brainstem stroke can also cause diplopia, slurred speech and decreased level of consciousness. A more serious outcome is locked-in syndrome.^{[citation needed]}

Syndromes[]

• The midbrain syndromes (Significant overlap between these three syndromes)
  • Superior alternating hemiplegia or Weber's syndrome
  • or Benedikt's syndrome
  • Claude's syndrome
• Medial pontine syndrome or or Foville's syndrome
• Lateral pontine syndrome or
• Medial medullary syndrome or
• Lateral medullary syndrome or Wallenberg syndrome

History[]

A history of locked in syndromes.

Jean-Dominique Bauby[]

Parisian journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby suffered a stroke in December 1995, and, when he awoke 20 days later, he found his body was almost completely paralyzed; he could control only his left eyelid. By blinking this eye, he slowly dictated one alphabetic character at a time and, in so doing, was able over a great deal of time to write his memoir, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Three days after it was published in March 1997, Bauby died of pneumonia.^[1] The 2007 film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a screen adaptation of Bauby's memoir. Jean-Dominique was instrumental in forming the Association du Locked-In Syndrome (ALIS) in France.^[2]

See also[]

• Alternating hemiplegia
• Lacunar syndromes
• Posterior cerebral artery syndrome
• Middle cerebral artery syndrome
• Anterior cerebral artery syndrome

References[]

External links[]