[Locked-in syndrome. Report of a case and review of the literature].

The case of a 46 year-old man who had a locked-in syndrome is reported. The patient had a haemorragic vascular accident with tetraplegia, anartria, vertical ocular movements and preservation of the consciousness. The EEG showed a projected disturbance possibly caused by a brain-stem lesion, that was confirmed by the CAT SCAN. Cerebral angiography showed high level of aterosclerosis. The lesion is located in the ventral part of the pons above the nucleus of the abducent nerve, without damaging the substantia reticularis of the mesencephalon and can be caused by thrombosis of the basilar artery and tumor, myastenia gravis, polyneurites, heroin overdose, after swine-flu inoculation and post-infectious polyneurites. The patient is still alive 2 years after the stroke with a good recovery. He can walk and speak fluently, but with cordonal ataxy of the limbs.