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Wallerian Degeneration of the Pontocerebellar Fibers

Tiziana De Simonea, Caroline Regna-Gladina, Maria Rita Carrierob, Laura Farinaa and Mario Savoiardoa

a Department of Neuroradiology, Istituto Nazionale Neurologico "C. Besta", Milan, Italy
b Department of Neurology, Istituto Nazionale Neurologico "C. Besta", Milan, Italy



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  		FIG 1. Patient 2.

A and B, Axial T2-weighted nonconsecutive sections, 4 mm thick. On the cranial section (A) only the right paramedian pontine infarct is visible. On the caudal section (B) hyperintensities of MCPs are visible. Faint right pontine hyperintensity represents WD along the corticospinal tract (arrow).

C, Coronal T2-weighted section shows the right paramedian infarct (arrow) and a slighter hyperintensity of the degenerated transverse pontine fibers and MCPs (arrowheads). Note that these fibers are caudally oriented from the midline to the MCP.

D, WD extends posteriorly in the cerebellar hemispheres, mostly in the upper part.



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  		FIG 2. Schematic drawing illustrating the corticopontine tracts and pontocerebellar fibers with their synapses in the pontine nuclei. The corticospinal tracts are also illustrated. The right pontine lesion (obliquely lined area) damages the local pontine neurons and the fibers originating more laterally on the right side, which will have to cross the midline, and all the fibers coming from the left pontine nuclei. The WD is best seen in the MCPs (dotted areas). WD is also present along the right corticospinal tract.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society of Neuroradiology. Print ISSN: 0195-6108 Online ISSN: 1936-959X