title: Repetitive involuntary leg movements in patients with brainstem lesions involving the pontine tegmentum: evidence for a pontine inhibitory region in humans.
abstract: Repetitive involuntary limbs movements have been mostly reported in patients with extensive brainstem pathologies, but the region responsible is unknown. We describe two patients with progressive basilar artery infarcts who showed automatic stepping and one patient with an osmotic demyelination disorder who showed periodic involuntary leg movements. By subtracting diffusion-weighted images before and after the development of repetitive involuntary leg movements, the brainstem lesion responsible for the involuntary movements was distinctively located in the vicinity of the pontine tegmentum, which is known as the pontine inhibitory region in animal studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Ajou University, Paldal-Ku, Suwon 442-721, South Korea. phisland@chol.net
authors.forename: Phil Hyu
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jin Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seok Woo
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Yong
authors.forename: Kyoon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Huh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D020820:Dyskinesias / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009433:Neural Inhibition; D011149:Pons / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013681:Tegmentum Mesencephali / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology