We herein report a 46-year-old man presenting with locked-in syndrome secondary to meningovascular syphilis. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated multiple acute infarctions in the left ventromedial pons, right basis pontis, and left basal ganglia. His locked-in syndrome was hypothesized to have been caused by thrombosis of the small paramedian branches of the basilar artery due to syphilitic arteritis. This is a unique case of bilateral ventromedial pontine infarction caused by meningovascular syphilis that presented as locked-in syndrome. Meningovascular syphilis should be included in the differential diagnosis of uncommon stroke, particularly in young men.

In blunt cerebrovascular injury, reported traumatic basilar artery occlusions have involved dissection of the basilar artery, distal embolization due to traumatic vertebral artery dissection, or entrapment of the basilar artery into the clivus fracture. To date, however, there are no reports of traumatic basilar artery entrapment without a clivus fracture. Here, we report the first case of traumatic basilar artery occlusion caused by entrapment into an originally existing bone defect. A 67-year-old man with a history of treatment for intracranial aneurysm suffered multiple traumatic injuries in a fall. On arrival at our hospital, he presented with neurogenic shock with quadriplegia. Computed tomography (CT) showed small epidural hematoma, C4-6 cervical spinous process fracture, and Th2-3 vertebral body fracture. CT angiography revealed occlusion of the basilar artery trunk. As vertebrobasilar artery dissections and clivus fracture were not observed; however, we could not elucidate the pathology of the basilar artery occlusion. On day 4, after surgery for the cervical and thoracic lesions, he exhibited consciousness disturbance. Diffusion-weighted imaging on day 5 showed hyperintensities in the brainstem and cerebellum. Basi-parallel anatomic scanning magnetic resonance imaging showed that the basilar artery, while lacking vascular wall injuries, was tethered into the clivus. Antithrombotic therapy was performed, but the patient progressed to a locked-in state. Previous head CT before the trauma revealed a bone defect already present in the clivus. We speculated basilar artery entrapment into this preexisting bone defect. We must look for basilar artery injury in trauma patients even in the absence of clivus fracture.

BACKGROUND: Isolated internuclear ophthalmoplegia (INO) after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is rare, with most reported patients having minor head injuries. We report a patient with INO after a massive supratentorial epidural hematoma. We review the literature published since 1966, to summarize the mechanisms of injury and clinical outcomes of INO after TBI.
UNASSIGNED: A 54-year-old woman had isolated INO 10 hours after emergent evacuation of a massive supratentorial epidural hematoma. The brainstem displacement caused by downward herniation led to a deficient blood supply. Magnetic resonance imaging showed an infarct at the right dorsal-medial pons. Her symptoms partially improved by 1.5 months postoperatively. A total of 27 patients, including ours, with INO after TBI have been reported over the past 50 years. Young male patients (mean age, 30.8 years; male, 67%) are more common, and INO tends to be bilateral (67%). Infarction, hemorrhage, and fiber injury are nearly equally responsible for causing INO (35%, 35%, and 30%, respectively). Most patients recover spontaneously; 65% gain full recovery at a median time of 3 months, and 91% have at least partial recovery at 4.5 months. The median time for full recovery after infarct, hemorrhage, and fiber injury is 12, 90, and 150 days, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: INO should be in the differential diagnosis of patients with TBI with an adduction deficit, despite the rarity of the condition. Isolated INO is a relatively benign sequela of TBI, with all but 1 reported patient achieving at least partial recovery over 12 months.

Wall-eyed bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia (WEBINO) is an uncommon disorder of ocular motility that possesses a unique spectrum of clinical findings, consisting of primary gaze exotropia, adduction impairment and nystagmus of the abducting eye. WEBINO is a variant of internuclear ophthalmoplegia (INO) sharing similar pathophysiology and aetiologies. Much of the literature published on internuclear ophthalmoplegia and its variants focuses on aetiology and pathophysiology, whereas there has been less information addressing prognosis and management. This review will provide current perspectives on the pathogenesis, prognosis and management of WEBINO syndrome.

Bilateral infarction of the medial medulla (MMI) is rare. Limited information is available on clinical characteristics, etiology, and prognosis. High-resolution neuroimaging has a major role in elucidating the underlying stroke mechanism. The aim of this systematic review was to analyze the clinical presentations, stroke mechanisms, and outcomes in patients with bilateral MMI. We performed a systematic review of the literature from 1992-2011 that reported on clinical presentations, stroke mechanism, and/or outcomes in patients with magnetic resonance imaging-proven bilateral MMI. Medline, EMBASE, and Web of Science Scholars Portal were searched without language restriction. Two reviewers independently assessed identified studies to determine eligibility, validity, and quality. The primary outcome was inpatient mortality; a secondary outcome was case fatality at 12 months. We identified 138 articles from Medline, EMBASE, and Scholars Portal including the MeSH terms \"brainstem infarction,\" \"medulla,\" and \"bilateral.\" Twenty-nine articles met our inclusion criteria, including a total of 38 cases with bilateral MMI, and included in our study. These 38 patients had a mean age of 62.2 years and were predominately male (74.2%). The most common clinical presentations were motor weakness in 78.4%, dysarthria in 48.6%, and hypoglossal palsy in 40.5%. The most common vascular pathology was vertebral artery atherosclerosis, in 38.5%. The clinical outcome was poor (mortality, 23.8%; dependency, 61.9%). Bilateral medial medullary infarction is a rare stroke syndrome. Clinical presentations were mostly rostral medullary lesions. Large-artery atherosclerosis and branch disease were the most common stroke mechanisms. The clinical outcome was usually poor.