[Embolism in an elderly diabetic patient following hyperosmolar coma]

The authors report a case of hemiballismus in an old patient with diabetes and hypertension, developed after a non ketotic hyperosmolar coma episode. In agreement with the recent literature, the syndrome is not always caused by a single Luys body lesion, but also by complex scattered lesions demonstrable only by RMN. A possible pathogenetic role of the recent non ketotic hyperosmolar diabetic coma and the good prognosis indicate that the vascular aetiology, even if prevalent, could not be the only one. The role of institutionalization of the patient during the development of the syndrome has also been discussed.