Ataxic hemiparesis following thalamic hemorrhage: a case report

A 66-year-old man suddenly developed right ataxic hemiparesis. Sensations, somatosensory-evoked potentials and visual-evoked potentials were normal. Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography of the head showed an acute hemorrhage mainly in the ventrolateral nucleus of the left thalamus. Interruption of the dentatorubrothalamocortical pathway at the level of the damaged ventrolateral nucleus of the thalamus, and the initial edema compressing the corticopontine tract in the posterior limb of the internal capsule might have contributed to the ataxia. Hemiparesis was related primarily to transient edema compressing the corticospinal tract in the posterior limb of the internal capsule.