Stroke recovery and lesion reduction following acute isolated bilateral ischaemic pontine infarction: a case report

BACKGROUND: Although pontine strokes account for a small percentage of all ischaemic events, they can be associated with significant initial disability. These lesions may be missed on computed tomography and therefore magnetic resonance imaging is generally preferred for the assessment of brainstem strokes. The aetiopathogenesis of isolated pontine infarcts, not due to a significant compromise (occlusion or dissection) in the vertebrobasilar territory, still remains to be fully characterised. These strokes present with different symptoms, depending on the lesion location and size, partly reflecting the anatomical variability of the vertebrobasilar vessels. Progressive neurological deterioration is relatively common and has been associated with the extension of such lesions. However, many patients with significant infarcts in the pons will do well in the future and initial diffusion-weighted imaging may not add useful prognostication to the clinical assessment. We discuss here a case where an initially progressive presentation was associated with a marked improvement in both clinical and radiological assessments at 42 days. CASE PRESENTATION: A 49-year-old white British man presented with left-sided weakness, incoordination, unsteadiness, cerebellar ataxic dysarthria and dysphonia. A baseline magnetic resonance imaging scan with diffusion-weighted imaging, T(1)-weighted and T(2)-weighted sequences showed an acute bilateral pontine infarct. On a repeat scan at 42 days, there was a 57.5% decrease in the size of the lesion on the high-resolution three-dimensional T(1)-weighted image and a corresponding improvement in the symptoms and the clinical assessments of this patient. The reduction in infarct size was also comparable to the decrease calculated between the baseline diffusion-weighted and the follow-up fluid attenuated inversion recovery sequences. CONCLUSION: This case report discusses the significant clinical improvement and corresponding lesion reduction in a patient that presented with worsening neurological symptoms and was diagnosed with acute bilateral ischaemic pontine infarction. Further studies, utilising structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging with follow-up scans, are needed to provide better insights into the underlying aetiopathology and recovery mechanisms of pontine stroke. These will help define the relationship between imaging parameters and outcome allowing for better prognosis along with the development of relevant rehabilitation programs for this group of patients. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1756-0500-7-728) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.