Sensory changes in the ipsilateral extremity. A clinical variant of lateral medullary infarction.

Abstract

Classically, patients with unilateral lateral medullary infarction exhibit sensory abnormalities over the ipsilateral face and contralateral hemibody. As a variant, bilateral or contralateral facial sensory changes can be seen. However, sensory changes in the ipsilateral extremities are extremely rare. We describe three patients with lateral medullary syndrome in whom impaired deep sensation in the ipsilateral limbs was found. MRI results showed that the infarcts were located superficially in the lateral (case 1) and dorsal (cases 2 and 3) areas of the lower medulla, which probably involved the ascending or crossing dorsal column sensory tracts. Although rare, impaired ipsilateral deep sensation is encountered in patients with lateral medullary infarction syndrome.