Treatment / Management The treatment of central pontine myelinolysis is primarily aimed at prevention. Various studies have been conducted to determine the rate at which sodium should be corrected. The current recommendations are to correct the sodium not more than 8-12 mEq/L per 24 hours.

This report demonstrates that CPM is potentially reversible when quickly recognized and therapeutic interventions are initiated rapidly.

A demyelinating disease is any condition that results in damage to the protective covering (myelin sheath) that surrounds nerve fibers in your brain, optic nerves and spinal cord. When the myelin sheath is damaged, nerve impulses slow or even stop, causing neurological problems.

Central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) is a neurological disorder that most frequently occurs after too rapid medical correction of sodium deficiency (hyponatremia). The rapid rise in sodium concentration is accompanied by the movement of small molecules and pulls water from brain cells.

Symptoms

• Confusion, delirium, hallucinations.
• Balance problems, tremor.
• Problem swallowing.
• Reduced alertness, drowsiness or sleepiness, lethargy, poor responses.
• Slurred speech.
• Weakness in the face, arms, or legs, usually affecting both sides of the body.

Diagnosing central pontine myelinolysis To help diagnose CPM, your doctor will run blood tests to measure your sodium levels. An MRI of your head can show any damage to your brain stem. You may also take a brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) test.

Recovery from a pontine stroke is possible. If you have experienced a pontine stroke, once your symptoms stabilize over time, the focus of your recovery will be based on preventing complications such as choking and preventing further strokes from happening.

The symptoms are often irreversible or only partially reversible, and they include dysarthria, dysphagia, tetraparesis, behavioral disturbances, lethargy, confusion, disorientation, and coma (2). When CPM develops after the rapid correction of hyponatremia, plasma exchange (PE) may be a beneficial therapy.

The pons powers the functions of the head and face The brainstem is made up of three sections, and carries vital information to the body. The pons relays information about motor function, sensation, eye movement, hearing, taste, and more.

The pons is the largest part of the brainstem, located above the medulla and below the midbrain. It is a group of nerves that function as a connection between the cerebrum and cerebellum (pons is Latin for bridge).

Pons also relays sensory information and signals governing sleep patterns. If pons is damaged, it may cause loss of all muscle function except for eye movement.

bridge

Benefits. Pons is an essential part of the brain located above the medulla. Pons is very important part of brain for the regulation and control of a number of vital functions. It not only acts as a control center, but also contains nuclei of some important cranial nerves.

The pons is a major division of the brainstem. Pons is Latin for “bridge”; the structure was given its name by the Italian anatomist Costanzo Varolio, who thought that the most conspicuous portion of the pons resembled a bridge that connected the two cerebellar hemispheres.

Causes of pontine haemorrhages which have an incidence of 2 to 4/100 000/year include hypertension, vascular malformations (a.v.-haemangioma, cavernous haemangioma, capillary teleangiectasies), anticoagulative treatment and inflammatory vascular disease.

Massive pontine hemorrhage with comatose condition has a poor prognosis and bad outcome despite adequate surgical treatment. However, this case report gives a different result. Providing adequate prophylactic treatment to prevent secondary brain injury resulted in a very good recovery at the 6-month follow-up.

Features typical of an acute intraparenchymal hemorrhage are noted, usually located centrally within the pons (on account of the larger paramedian perforators usually being the site of bleeding).

The survival rate after hemorrhagic stroke was 26.7% within a period of five years. Long-term survival rate prognosis is significantly better among the younger patients, without hypertension, alcohol intake and diabetes mellitus.

Fortunately, damaged brain cells are not beyond repair. They can regenerate — this process of creating new cells is called neurogenesis. The most rapid recovery usually occurs during the first three to four months after a stroke. However, recovery can continue well into the first and second year.

The left side of the brain controls critical thinking, judgment, reasoning, and sequencing, therefore, having a stroke on the left side of the brain can cause someone to have varying levels of cognitive impairments. The left side of the brain controls all oral functions which include chewing and swallowing.

Many patients who have experienced a brain hemorrhage do survive. However, survival rates are decreased when the bleeding occurs in certain areas of the brain or if the initial bleed was very large. If a patient survives the initial event of an intracranial hemorrhage, recovery may take many months.

Many hemorrhages do not need treatment and go away on their own. If a patient is exhibiting symptoms or has just had a brain injury, a medical professional may order a computerized tomography (CT) scan or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to check for brain hemorrhages.

Brain bleed symptoms may include:

• Sudden or severe headache.
• Weakness, tingling or numbness in the arms or legs (often on one side)
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Changes in vision.
• Changes in balance.
• Difficulty speaking or understanding speech.
• Difficulty using fine motor skills.
• Seizures.

Brain bleeds – bleeding between the brain tissue and skull or within the brain tissue itself – can cause brain damage and be life-threatening. Some symptoms include headache; nausea and vomiting; or sudden tingling, weakness, numbness or paralysis of face, arm or leg.

It’s possible for the brain to “rewire” itself to compensate for an injury to the frontal lobe and allow undamaged areas to take over a function! Therefore, even if you’ve suffered damage to the frontal lobe, this doesn’t automatically mean you have permanently lost an ability controlled by that area.

Approximately 25% of patients die within 24 hours, with or without medical attention. Hospitalized patients have an average mortality rate of 40% in the first month. About half of affected individuals die in the first 6 months. Rebleeding, a major complication, carries a mortality rate of 51-80%.

Depressive symptoms in particular, but also chronic stress in life, increase the risk of older people having a stroke or transient ischemic attack, says researchers, who found feelings of hostility, but not anger, were also a risk factor for cerebrovascular disease.

It can be hard to recognize when someone is having a brain stem stroke. They may have some symptoms without the hallmark sign of weakness on one side of the body. Symptoms of brain stem stroke include: Vertigo, dizziness and loss of balance.

Even a slight increase in stress and anxiety levels may raise stroke risk, according to a research study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke. Researchers followed more than 6,000 people over 22 years to determine how stress and anxiety affects the risk of stroke.

St. Paul, Minn. – Anger and other negative emotions may be triggers for ischemic stroke, according to a study published in the December 14 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.