Vertical Gaze Palsy Caused by Selective Unilateral Rostral Midbrain Infarction

Neuroophthalmology. 2018 Jan 9;42(5):309-311. doi: 10.1080/01658107.2017.1401092. eCollection 2018 Oct.

Abstract

Vertical gaze palsy is rarely a neurological symptom, although it has been observed in some cases. Here, we report the case of a patient presenting with complete upward and downward gaze palsy. In this case, a small lesion in the left rostral midbrain was observed on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images, and the lesion was considered to cause the ocular symptom. We consider that vertical gaze palsy is an important clue to an accurate topical diagnosis of a brain lesion.

Keywords: Rostral midbrain infarction; lacunar infarction; rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus (riMLF); vertical gaze palsy.