1531-8257/asset/MDS_left.gif?v=1&s=a99f3b698e6ae32e96dbc75c912d289e5c35649d)
1531-8257/asset/MDS_right.gif?v=1&s=4d3c8316b533aa4e41b7101a2d6fa6f082cf2505)
Brief Report
Bilateral pedunculopontine nuclei strokes presenting as freezing of gait
Article first published online: 7 JAN 2008
DOI: 10.1002/mds.21917
Copyright © 2008 Movement Disorder Society
Additional Information
How to Cite
Kuo, S.-H., Kenney, C. and Jankovic, J. (2008), Bilateral pedunculopontine nuclei strokes presenting as freezing of gait. Mov. Disord., 23: 616–619. doi: 10.1002/mds.21917
Publication History
- Issue published online: 26 MAR 2008
- Article first published online: 7 JAN 2008
- Manuscript Accepted: 28 NOV 2007
- Manuscript Revised: 27 OCT 2007
- Manuscript Received: 20 AUG 2007
Keywords:
- pedunculopontine nucleus;
- freezing of gait;
- stroke
Abstract
The penduculopontine nucleus (PPN) has been suggested to play an important role in locomotion, based on animal studies, but its function in humans has not been well defined. Autopsy studies have suggested that PPN pathology correlates with gait dysfunction in Parkinson's disease and in progressive supranuclear palsy but direct clinical evidence is lacking. We report a patient with bilateral PPN infarcts whose dominant clinical feature was freezing of gait, thus providing evidence that PPN is involved in human locomotion and that damage to the PPN may lead to abnormal gait. © 2008 Movement Disorder Society