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Alcoholic case of central pontine myelinolysis with mainly cerebellar signs.

Ozgur-Ilhan I, Demirbas H, Yalcin GA, Yucesan C, Dogan YB

Department of Psychiatry, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. iilhan@medicine.ankara.edu.tr

The etiology of central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) is usually related to rapid correction of hyponatremia and alcoholism. Here a case with CPM predominated by cerebellar signs is described, and the neuropsychological assessment of the case is presented as well. Blood biochemistry revealed a normal sodium level and neuropsychological examination revealed impairment in attention and concentration, reduced immediate memory span, and impaired delayed recall. Further studies are needed to discover whether these neuropsychological signs are specific for CPM or due to alcoholism in general.

Published 1 July 2005 in Eur Addict Res, 11(3): 155-6.
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