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. 2023 Aug 1;101(5):240. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000207655

Author Response: Teaching NeuroImage: Reinhold Hemimedullary Syndrome

Praveen Kesav 1
PMCID: PMC10401680  PMID: 37524530

We read with interest the comments made by Dr. Béjot on our article.1 We agree that Opalski syndrome2 should have been included in the table depicting the medullary vascular syndromes. However, we disagree with a few statements made by Béjot. Opalski syndrome is an atypical lateral medullary syndrome rather than a hemimedullary syndrome, where essential components are ipsilateral hemiparesis, positive Babinski sign, and contralateral sensory dysfunction.3,4 Kim et al. studied 130 patients with pure lateral medullary infarction. Seven individuals had ipsilateral hemiparesis without hyperreflexia or Babinski sign possibly attributed to spinocerebellar hypotonia and not due to pyramidal dysfunction as seen in classical Opalski syndrome.5

Footnotes

Author disclosures are available upon request (journal@neurology.org).

References

  • 1.Kesav P, Hussain SI, John S, Sajjad Z, Jacob A. Teaching NeuroImage: Reinhold hemimedullary syndrome. Neurology. 2023;100(10):490-491. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000201686 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.Opalski A. A new sub-bulbar syndrome: partial syndrome of the posterior vertebrospinal artery. Paris Med. 1946;214-220. [Google Scholar]
  • 3.Hermann DM, Jung HH, Bassetti CL. Lateral medullary infarct with alternating and dissociated sensorimotor deficits: Opalski's syndrome revisited. Eur J Neurol. 2009;16(4):e72-e74. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2009.02556.x [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 4.Nakamura S, Kitami M, Furukawa Y. Opalski syndrome: ipsilateral hemiplegia due to a lateral medullary infarction. Neurology. 2010;75(18):1658. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181fb4479 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 5.Kim JS. Pure lateral medullary infarction: clinical-radiological correlation of 130 acute, consecutive patients. Brain. 2003;126(pt 8):1864-1872. doi: 10.1093/brain/awg169 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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