Brown-Sequard Syndrome Caused by Spinal Cord Infarction: A Case Report and Literature Review

ABSTRACT

Brown-Sequard syndrome is usually observed in patients with compressive myelopathy due to trauma, cord tumors, and degenerative spinal diseases. Brown-Sequard syndrome resulting from spinal cord infarction is rare. We report the case of a 46-year-old man who presented abruptly with left hemiparesis and diminished pain and temperature sensations on his right side below the C6 dermatome. Cervical spine magnetic resonance imaging revealed abnormally high signal intensity in the left lateral parenchyma of the spinal cord at the level of C4 and C6 on T2 weighted images. After excluding other possible causes, a clinical diagnosis of Brown-Sequard syndrome of probable vascular onset was made, associated with spinal cord infarction. The patient was managed conservatively with intravenous fluids and corticosteroids. However, his condition remained mostly unchanged after six months. Here, we present a rare case of spinal cord infarction causing acute Brown-Sequard syndrome, with a review of the literature.