Pupil-sparing third nerve palsies and hemiataxia: Claude's and reverse Claude's syndrome

Abstract

We report two patients with midbrain infarction with pupil-sparing third nerve palsies and hemiataxia: one with contralateral ataxia (Claude's syndrome) and one with ipsilateral ataxia (which we refer to as reverse Claude's syndrome). We highlight the importance of a thorough neurologic evaluation with partial oculomotor palsies and describe, to our knowledge, the fourth account in the literature of a pupil-sparing third nerve palsy with ipsilateral cerebellar ataxia.

Keywords: Cerebellar ataxia; Claude’s syndrome; Midbrain infarction; Oculomotor nerve palsy.