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Wallenberg’s Syndrome

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Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology

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Synonyms

Lateral medullary syndrome

Short Description or Definition

Described in 1895 by Wallenberg and later outlined by Fisher et al. (1961), this syndrome is produced by a lesion in a wedge of lateral medulla lying posterior to the inferior olivary nucleus. It is frequently the result of an infarction, and however, although much rarer, may also be due to a small well-localized hemorrhage or a tumor. The complete syndrome involves the vestibular nuclei, spinothalamic tract, descending sympathetic tract, fascicles of the ninth and tenth nerves, otolithic nucleus, olivocerebellar and/or spinocerebellar fibers, and restiform body. The symptoms most frequently associated with this syndrome are ataxia (84%), numbness (78%), dysphagia (69%), vertigo (60%), nausea (58%), dysarthria (49%), headache (44%), as well as hoarseness, facial pain, hiccups, and others. Long-term disability affecting multiple domains can result from this strategically localized infarction.

Symptoms

See Table 1.

Table...

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References and Readings

  • Bogousslavsky, J., & Caplan, L. R. (2001). Stroke syndromes. New York: Cambridge University Press.

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  • Caplan, L. (2000). Posterior circulation ischemia: Then, now, and tomorrow. The Thomas Willis Lecture. Stroke, 31(8), 2011.

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  • Caplan, L. R., Pessin, M. S., Scott, R. M., & Yarnell, P. (1986). Poor outcome after lateral medullary infarcts. Neurology, 36, 1510–1513.

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  • Mohr, J. P., James, C. G., & Dennis, W. C. (Eds.). (2004). Stroke: Pathophysiology, diagnosis and management. Philadelphia (not Elsevier): Elsevier Health Sciences/Churchill Livingstone.

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  • Ropper, A. H., Brown, R. H., Adams, R. D., & Victor, M. (2005). Principles of neurology. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical Publishers.

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  • Shoja, M. M., Tubbs, R. S., Loukas, M., & Ardalan, M. R. (2008). Adolf Wallenberg (1862–1949): Physician and neuroanatomist. Childs Nervous System, 24(9), 979. [Epub ahead of print].

    Article  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurology Group of Bergen County, P.A, 1200 E. Ridgewood, Suite 208, Ridgewood, NJ, 07450, USA

    Olga Noskin

Authors
  1. Olga Noskin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Olga Noskin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Richmond, Virgin Islands, USA

    Jeffrey Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation , West Orange, New Jersey, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Suite 200 , Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

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Noskin, O. (2016). Wallenberg’s Syndrome. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_582-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_582-4

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

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