Pitfalls in the diagnosis of pupil-sparing oculomotor nerve palsy without limb ataxia: A case report of a variant of Claude's syndrome and neuroanatomical analysis using diffusion-tensor imaging

Abstract

Midbrain infarction causing oculomotor nerve palsy with contralateral ataxia is named Claude's syndrome. Herein we report the case of a variant of Claude's syndrome, which shows pupil-sparing oculomotor nerve palsy without the accompanying neurological deficits other than subtle truncal ataxia. MRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging revealed that midbrain infarction was located rostrally above the decussation of the superior cerebellar peduncle (SCP) and might have partially destructed the tectospinal tract, which resulted in the absence of limb ataxia and presence of subtle truncal ataxia. In this variant of Claude's syndrome, we should carefully assess truncal ataxia to avoid misdiagnosing it as isolated pupil-sparing oculomotor nerve palsy because the patient showed apparently normal gait and truncal ataxia was only revealed by unstable tandem gait.

Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging; Oculomotor nerve palsy; Superior cerebellar peduncle; Tectospinal tract; Truncal ataxia.