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Bilateral basal ganglia and cerebellar lesions in an alcoholic hyperosmolar patient.

Dash S, Karim H, Solanky M, Ionita C, Pullicino P

Department of Neurosciences, University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey-University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey 07103, USA.

Bilateral symmetrical basal ganglia lesions may be caused by hypoxic/ischemic injury. However, similar lesions have not been described in the cerebellar cortex. To report a case of bilateral basal ganglia and cerebellar lesions in an alcoholic patient with hyperglycemia and hypotension. A 47-year-old alcoholic man with hypotension of unknown duration and hyperosmolarity had mild weakness of the left upper extremity. Neuroimaging revealed abnormality of bilateral symmetric globus pallidus and inferior cerebellum. Prolonged hypotension with hyperosmolarity may give rise to bilateral basal ganglia and cerebellar lesions.

Published 2 December 2004 in J Neuroimaging, 15(1): 85-8.
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