MRI findings of inferior olives in palatal myoclonus

Summary

Four patients with palatal myoclonus (PM) were studied with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Increased signal intensity and bilateral enlargement of the inferior olives were recognized in two patients with bilateral PM, pontine haemorrhage and neuro-Behçet disease, and a similar olivary change on the contralateral side was noted in a case of pontine infarction with unilateral PM. These findings were consistent with the pathology. The changes were more obvious in proton density-weighted images than in T₂-weighted images, which thus differ from the changes in common gliosis. The other patient with the syndrome of PM and progressive ataxia did not show any olivary change. These changes on MRI are considered to indicate pseudo-hypertrophy of the inferior olives, although this is not consistently shown by the imaging method.