Locked-in Syndrome - Causes

Causes

Unlike persistent vegetative state, in which the upper portions of the brain are damaged and the lower portions are spared, locked-in syndrome is caused by damage to specific portions of the lower brain and brainstem, with no damage to the upper brain.

Possible causes of locked-in syndrome include:

• Traumatic brain injury
• Diseases of the circulatory system
• Medication overdose
• Damage to nerve cells, particularly destruction of the myelin sheath, caused by disease (e.g. central pontine myelinolysis secondary to rapid correction of hyponatremia)
• A stroke or brain hemorrhage, usually of the basilar artery