title: Posttraumatic Benedikt's syndrome: a rare entity with unclear anatomopathological correlations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study sought to present a very rare case of a posttraumatic midbrain lesion producing a debilitating constellation of symptoms identified as Benedikt's syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 20-year-old woman with traumatic brain injury presented with ipsilateral internal and external ophthalmoplegia, and contralateral hemiataxia, proprioception disturbances, hypertonicity, slight hemiparesis, and hyperactive tendon reflexes. A bibliographic search was performed in PubMed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Neuroimaging revealed a left midbrain lesion at the level of the superior colliculi. In the literature, virtually all Benedikt's syndrome cases, which are rare anyway, are due to midbrain infarcts (basilar or posterior cerebral artery branches). There is only one case from 1963, reported as a posttraumatic Benedikt-type dyskinesia (French language). The historical evolution of the anatomopathologic correlations of the syndrome is also discussed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Benedikt's syndrome is a very rare condition, usually of vascular etiology. Our case is just the second one of traumatic pathogenesis ever reported, the first in the English language literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Asclepeion General Hospital, Voula, Athens, Greece. n.paidakakos@gmail.com
authors.forename: Nikolaos A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Paidakakos
authors.forename: Evangelos
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rokas
authors.forename: Spyridon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Theodoropoulos
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dimogerontas
authors.forename: Epaminondas
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Konstantinidis
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015840:Oculomotor Nerve Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D009886:Ophthalmoplegia / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D010291:Paresis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D012012:Red Nucleus / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology; D020886:Somatosensory Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D013577:Syndrome; D055815:Young Adult