BILATERAL PARAMEDIAN THALAMIC INFARCTION SYNDROME - A DIFFERENTIAL-DIAGNOSIS IN A CASE EXHIBITING DISTURBANCES IN VIGILANCE AND COGNITION

In a 63-year-old woman admitted to the emergency ward because of coma of unknown origin, clinical examination, analysis of blood and cerebro spinal fluid, electroencephalography, and computed tomography of the b rain were unrevealing. On the fourth hospital day the coma was followe d by an apathetic state and amnesic syndrome, suggesting bilateral tha lamic infarction. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain demonstrated bilateral thalamic infarction of the paramedian territories. The role of the thalamus for functions of vigilance and cognition is emphasize d.