Central pontine myelinolysis

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Central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) is a neurological condition involving severe damage to the myelin sheath of nerve cells in the pons (an area of the brainstem). It is predominantly iatrogenic (treatment-induced), and is characterized by acute paralysis, dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), dysarthria (difficulty speaking), and other neurological symptoms. Central pontine myelinolysis was first described as a disorder in 1959. The original paper described four cases with fatal outcomes, and the findings on autopsy. The disease was described as a disease of alcoholics and malnutrition. 'Central pontine' indicated the site of the lesion, and 'myelinolysis' was used to emphasise that myelin was affected. The authors intentionally avoided the term 'demyelination' to describe the condition, to differentiate this condition from multiple sclerosis and other neuroinflammatory disorders. Since this original description, demyelination in other areas of the central nervous system associated with osmotic...

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