Neural injury of the Papez circuit following hypoxic–ischemic brain injury: A case report

INTRODUCTION: Hypoxic–ischemic brain injury (HI-BI), a result of oxygen deprivation of the brain, is accompanied by memory impairment. In this study, we report on a patient with neural injury of the Papez circuit following HI-BI, demonstrated by diffusion tensor tractography (DTT). CLINICAL FINDINGS/PATIENT CONCERNS: A 48-year-old male patient suffered spontaneous cardiopulmonary arrest and underwent cardiopulmonary resuscitation for approximately 20 minutes with the concomitant oxygen deprivation leading to HI-BI. The patient showed severe memory impairment at 10 weeks after onset: a Mini-Mental State Examination score of 11 (full score: 30, cut-off score < 24), and examination using the memory function test was not possible due to severe cognitive deficit. OUTCOMES: On 10-week DTT, discontinuation of the fornical column was observed in both hemispheres and thinning of the thalamocingulate tract was observed in the right hemisphere and nonreconstruction in the left hemisphere. CONCLUSION: Using DTT, neural injury of the Papez circuit was demonstrated in a patient with memory impairment following HI-BI. These results suggest that analysis of the Papez circuit using DTT could provide beneficial information by detecting injury of the Papez circuit that cannot be detected on conventional brain MRI in patients with HI-BI.