Marchiafava-Bignami Disease : A Case Report

NATH PASUTHARNCHAT, M.D.*, KAMMANT PHANTHUMCHINDA, M.D.*

Affiliation : * Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.

AbstractMarchiafava-Bignami Disease (MBD) is a rare, severe and usually fatal neurological dis order associated with chronic alcoholism. Previously, the definite diagnosis was confirmed at the autopsy. After the era of modem imaging technology, diagnosis was based on clinical profiles, his tory of alcoholism and specific location of pathology in corpus the callosum demonstrated by MRI. The authors reported a case of MBD in a 41 year-old alcoholic Thai male who presented with acute confusion and ataxia. MRI of the brain demonstrated qemyelination, edema and necrosis of the corpus callosum with extensive symmetrical subcortical white matter lesions. He had a dramatic recovery after treatment with intravenous thiamine. Follow-up MRI revealed atrophic and cystic changes of the corpus callosum and almost complete resolution of the subcortical lesions. Recently, 15 cases of MBD with specific corpus callosal lesion, demonstrated by MRI, were published in the English literature. All had a favorable outcome after treatment with thiamine. Only one case had extensive extracallosal lesions and this case also had a good recovery after treatment. Now, MBD is not a fatal disease and early diagnosis and treatment are crucial.

Keywords : Marchiafava-Bignami Disease, Alcohol, Corpus Callosum

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