title: Decreased diffusion in central pontine myelinolysis.
abstract: Two patients with central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) were studied with diffusion-weighted MR imaging 1 week after onset of tetraplegia. In both patients, affected white matter showed hyperintensity on diffusion-weighted images associated with a decrease in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values. In one patient studied serially, ADC values normalized by 3 weeks after tetraplegia. Early in the clinical course, diagnosis of CPM can sometimes be difficult. Hyperintensity on diffusion-weighted images may therefore have diagnostic utility. Decreased lesional ADC values support the notion that CPM is a consequence of relative intracellular hypotonicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Cramer
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Stegbauer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mukai
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Maravilla
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017590:Myelinolysis, Central Pontine / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011149:Pons / Q000473:pathology*