Normal diffusion-weighted MRI during the acute stage of central pontine myelinolysis.

Central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) is rare demyelinating disorder characterized by loss of myelin in the center of the basis pontis. The clinical features of CPM vary depending on the involved areas. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is thought to be useful for early detection during the acute phase, but its utility in this context has not been investigated thoroughly. We report the case of a CPM patient with normal initial DWI findings even at 1 week after symptom onset. To the best of our knowledge, no such cases of CPM have previously been reported.