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[Marchiafava-Bignami disease: interhemispheric disconnection, Balint syndrome, spontaneously favourable outcome].
Maladie de Marchiafava-Bignami: disconnexion interhémisphérique, syndrome de Balint, évolution spontanément favorable.
We report a new case of Marchiafava-Bignami disease with favourable outcome. This case is particular on several scores. The interhemispheric disconnection syndrome was associated with Balint's syndrome, and this had apparently never been reported in this context previously. Despite the intensity and diffusion of white matter lesions in both hemispheres, and in the absence of vitamin treatment, the clinical and neuroradiological (CT, MRI) improvement occurred early and rapidly. This course, similar to that of toxic drug withdrawal, suggested that this was not a process of vitamin deficiency. Data from the literature indicate that a wide extension of corpus callosum lesions to the semi-ovale centre has a poor vital and functional prognosis. Our case shows that this is not always correct and that the appearance of intralesional necrosis and cavitation is not the rule. We consider that the most reliable factor of poor prognosis seems to be an initial coma.
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