Vertical Gaze Palsy and Selective Unilateral Medial Longitudinal
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Journal ofNeurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 1990;53:67-71 67 J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry: first published as 10.1136/jnnp.53.1.67 on 1 January 1990. Downloaded from Vertical gaze palsy and selective unilateral infarction of the rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus (riMLF) J Bogousslavsky, J Miklossy, F Regli, R Janzer Abstract Case report We report a clinico-pathological correla- A 60 year old housewife who was a smoker had tion study in a patient with basilar artery been investigated for ten years for arterial thrombosis, who developed tetraplegia hypertension, diabetes mellitus and elevated and combined up- and downgaze palsy blood cholesterol. Three weeks before admis- involving voluntary saccades and sion, she experienced transient dysarthria and visually-guided movements, but sparing dizziness and the day before had been unable to the oculocephalic responses. At necropsy, stand and experienced tingling in the left hand. apart from bilateral infarction in the One day later, she suffered acute rotatory basis pontis, there was a single unilateral vertigo with vomiting, diplopia, dysarthria, infarct selectively destroying the rostral and left-sided weakness and numbness. On interstitial nucleus of the medial longi- admission, the patient was well-oriented in tudinal fasciculus (riMLF) on the right. time and place but had severe dysarthria. Blood The posterior commissure and its pressure was 140/85 mm Hg. The visual fields nucleus, the nucleus of Cajal, the nucleus were normal. Eye movements were normal. of Darkschewitsch and the pontine The pupils could not be assessed, because of tegmentum were spared. We suggest that previous cataract operations. She had a slight the unilateral riMLF lesion may have lower facial paresis on the left. The remainder disrupted bilateral upgaze excitatory and of the cranial nerves were normal. She had inhibitory inputs and unilateral down- a moderate left hemiparesis with decreased gaze excitatory inputs. The functional sensation for temperature and pain. The anatomy of inhibitory and excitatory upper limb showed dysmetria and dysdiado- vertical gaze circuitry, which remains chokinesia. Over 24 hours after admission, the speculative, may explain why a unilateral patient progressively worsened and developed lesion of the upper midbrain tegmentum a complete left hemiplegia, despite intravenous may be sufficient to generate an upgaze heparin therapy (30 000 Iu/24 h). Progressive palsy or a combined up- and downgaze weakness then developed on the right, and four palsy, while an isolated downgaze palsy days later she had a spastic tetraplegia with requires bilateral lesions. facial diplegia and severe lower cranial nerve palsy. The clinical picture showed a typical http://jnnp.bmj.com/ for the horizontal is well known that vertical gaze palsy is locked-in syndrome, except It when related to mesencephalic dysfunction.'2 More eye movements which were unimpaired tested for voluntary and pursuit gaze. The recently, the critical area for the genesis of up- and downward saccades in the monkey and in patient could open and close her eyes on has been found to be located dorso- command, but there was a complete vertical humans and move- medial to the anterior pole ofthe red nucleus, in gaze palsy for voluntary pursuit ments. Bedside vertical optokinetic testing an area now called the rostral interstitial on September 27, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus with a drum showed no response, but the manoeuvre elicited a full Other upper midbrain structures vertical oculocephalic (riMLF)34. and downward response. This state implicated in vertical gaze include the posterior upward commissure, the interstitial nucleus of Cajal remained unchanged for four months. The the nucleus of Darkschewitsch.5 Classic- patient then developed palpebral ptosis and and adduction weakness in the right eye. It became ally, upgaze palsy has been related to uni- or more difficult to communicate with the patient bilateral upper midbrain lesions, while a Department of bilateral lesion is required to give rise to using her preserved eye movements. At the Neurology* and downgaze palsy.56 However, the respective role same time, the tetraplegia became flaccid, the Division of nucleus patient developed purposeless chewing Neuropathologyt of the riMLF, posterior commissure, 30 Centre nucleus of Darkschewitsch, and movements, and her weight dropped by kg. Hospitalier of Cajal, months after admission. Universitaire Vaudois, related structures has remain difficult to assess She died six Lausanne, Switzerland in in the absence of case reports with J Bogousslavsky* humans, J Miklossyt selective involvement of one or the other of Laboratory investigations F Regli* these structures. Brain CT was checked three times and showed R Janzert Our report of a patient with combined up- a right occipital, left lenticular and right pon- Correspondence to: in association with an tine infarcts. Bilateral vertebral digital arterial Dr Bogousslavsky, and downgaze palsy Department of Neurology, upper midbrain infarct limited to the riMLF angiography ten days after admission showed CHUV, 1011 Lausanne, in progresive stenosis of the basilar artery from Switzerland. on the right side may provide further insight of vertical the last part of the middle third, with occlusion Received 24 February 1989. the understanding of the control Accepted 6 July 1989 gaze. of the distal third. Brainstem auditory evoked 68 Bogousslavsky, Miklossy, Regli, Janzer J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry: first published as 10.1136/jnnp.53.1.67 on 1 January 1990. Downloaded from Figure 1 Paraffin sections stainedfor myelin (Loyez), through the pons .......:." atfour different levels (A: ..6 mesencephalic-pontine `.k1. junction; B: upper pons; C and D: midpons), showing the extent of the bilateral cystic infarction. Al, Bl, Cl and Dl are schematic representations of the lesion at the same levels. *...S.,~~zE ~ ~, ~ .B f Sg _ - *t fy | w... ,:j;si; 'Sst'W.. _ ,,W,. we,, K1 3 J t °:,: xt v w-b., .N1 .} : t 1 S ° F°*°°x-- http://jnnp.bmj.com/ I ': f on September 27, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. potentials showed no abnormality when per- weeks. After macroscopical examination, the formed three and four months after admission. brain was cut in 8 mm coronal slices. Blocks ECG and standard blood tests were normal. were taken from the left striatum, the left occipito-temporal, the right occipital region Neuropathologicalfindings and from the cerebellum. Ten pm paraffine The brain was fixed in 10%/ formalin for three sections were stained with hematoxyline- Vertical gaze palsy and selective unilateral infarction of the rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinalfasciculus (riMLF) 69 J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry: first published as 10.1136/jnnp.53.1.67 on 1 January 1990. Downloaded from superior part of the medulla oblongata were .s .- RiM'vLF.- stained alternatively with hematoxyline-eosine and Loyez stains. Forty gm frozen serial sec- tions from blocks of the thalamus and upper midbrain on both sides were stained with Oil red 0 and Sudan black. The brain weighed 1290 g. There was no sign of oedema or atrophy. The circle of Willis Nk showed severe atherosclerosis. The middle third of the basilar artery was totally occluded by an organised, recanalised thrombus which extended into the rostral segment of the artery. In the examination ofthe cerebral hemispheres there was revealed a small old cystic infarct (1-5 cm diameter) in the deep territory of the the R,N } left middle cerebral artery destroying supero-lateral part of the striatum and involv- ing the anterior-superior part of the internal capsule, and an old infarct in the territory ofthe right posterior cerebral artery destroying the posterior part of the lingual and fusiform gyri. The most important lesion was an infarct in the territory of the basilar artery, the appearance ofwhich corresponded to the dura- tion ofthe clinical history. The infarct involved ..< 7\\k large parts of the ventral pons, but the tegmen- tum of the pons was completely spared (fig 1). The medial longitudinal fasciculus, the trochlear and abducens nuclei and their fibres, as well as the paramedian pontine reticular formation (PPRF) were intact on both sides. The caudal pons, medulla oblongata and cerebellum did not show any foci of infarction. At the meso-diencephalic junction, there was an infarct at the level of the central mesen- cephalic grey, and the right rostral interstitial nucleus of the mnedial longitudinal fasciculus (riMLF) was damaged (fig 2). The nucleus of Darkschewitsch, the interstitial nucleus of Cajal, the nucleus and fibres of the posterior commissure as well as the nuclei ofthe pretectal region were completely spared. On the left side, http://jnnp.bmj.com/ the mesencephalic tegmentum was entirely spared. A more recent minute focus of infarct was . found in the supero-lateral part of the right 4~~~~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ oculomotor nuclear complex, involving the gpp rostral part of the dorsal, ventral and inter- #. 4 mediate columns. .. on September 27, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. A~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~g.j~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.......... ..S Discussion Our patient had a severe infarct of the ventral pons due to basilar artery thrombosis. The W*Me1 pontine tegmentum was completely spared, which explained the normal horizontal eye movements. On the other hand, a small focus of Figure 2 a: Coronal section of the upper midbrain at