Central Pontine Lesions Observed with MRI in Four Diabetic Patients

Hiroo Ichikawa; Hidetomo Murakami; Hirotaka Katoh; Soutaro Hieda; Mitsuru Kawamura

doi:10.2169/internalmedicine.47.0868

CASE REPORTS

Central Pontine Lesions Observed with MRI in Four Diabetic Patients

Hiroo Ichikawa, Hidetomo Murakami, Hirotaka Katoh, Soutaro Hieda, Mitsuru Kawamura

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Keywords: pontine lesion, magnetic resonance imaging, central pontine myelinolysis, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic hepatitis C

JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

2008 Volume 47 Issue 15 Pages 1425-1430

DOI https://doi.org/10.2169/internalmedicine.47.0868

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Abstract

We report four diabetic patients with a central pontine lesion on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). All patients also had hypertension, diabetic neuropathy and nephropathy, and three had chronic hepatitis C. Their neurological symptoms were disproportionately mild compared with the MRI features, which were of high intensity on T2-weighted images, but were less prominent on T1- and diffusion-weighted images. A subclinical pontine lesion was found in two patients who had undergone MRI previously. We consider that diabetes mellitus is an important factor for developing a pontine lesion with or without symptoms, probably in association with hepato-renal problems and hypertension.

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