Central pontine myelinolysis.

A patient is reported whose ailment meets the criteria of CPM. The illness was complicated by pneumonitis, most likely of the aspiration type. Of particular interest was the reversibility of a clinical picture of marked deterioration when attention was paid to fluid and electrolyte balance and maintenance of respiration. This patient's illness appears to meet the criteria of CPM, namely impairment of the facial muscles and tongue with dysphagia and dysarthria, flaccid quadriparesis or quadriplegia, and frequently, lack of response to painful stimuli followed by respiratory paralysis. The presence of peripheral neuropathy has been previously noted in a patient with CPM, but it is not an integral part of the disease.