부산대학교 도서관

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.braindev.2008.08.009 Byline: Irene Toldo, Renzo Manara, Stefano Sartori, Agnese Suppiej, Paola Drigo Keywords: Neurovascular conflict; Hypoglossal nerve palsy; Unilateral; Tongue; Fasciculation; Vertebrobasilar arteries Abstract: A neurovascular conflict (NC) consists of a pathological contact between a vessel, generally an artery, and the root entry zone of a cranial nerve close to the brainstem. Even if NC of the V, VII and IX cranial nerve have been rarely described, to the best of our knowledge there is no report about the XII cranial nerve NC in the paediatric age. A three-year-old girl presented with right-sided tongue atrophy and fasciculation, of one-year-duration, consistent with a peripheral lesion of the right XII cranial nerve. Brain MRI and MRA documented a marked tortuosity of the vertebrobasilar arteries compressing the brainstem at the emergency of the XII cranial nerve, while the CT disclosed a concomitant osseous malformation of the cranio-cervical junction. The differential diagnosis of a peripheral unilateral cranial nerve palsy should include, even if rare in children, a neurovascular conflict. In this case a complete neuroimaging study is indicated. Author Affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani, 3, 35128 Padova, Italy Article History: Received 18 February 2008; Revised 30 March 2008; Accepted 6 August 2008