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Updated: Aug 30, 2026

Establishment of Acute Pontine Infarction in Rats by Electrical Stimulation
Published on: August 27, 2020
Painful isolated Horner's syndrome caused by pontine ischaemia
Luc Crevits1, Katharina D'Herde2, Karel Deblaere3
1Department of Neurology, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 , Ghent, Belgium. luc.crevits@ugent.be.
Purpose:
To alert ophthalmologists to the possibility of brainstem ischaemia in patients with isolated Horner's syndrome.
Design:
Observational case report.
Methods:
Neuro-ophthalmological and neuroimaging assessment of a 59-year-old woman presenting with an isolated Horner's syndrome after an episode of headache.
Results:
Horner's syndrome was pharmacologically localised to a first- or second-order sympathetic neuron on the right. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a small ischaemic lesion at the transition between pons and midbrain, lateral to the anterolateral system involving the sympathetic tract on the right side.
Conclusion:
An isolated Horner's syndrome may be the presenting sign of a brainstem infarction. This case report stresses the importance of a rational approach to Horner's syndrome and the need to order accurate MRI.
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