A 53 years-old male, diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and liver cirrhosis due to HCV infection, was hospitalized at the Gastroenterology Department for paraclinical workup, prior to inclusion on the liver transplantation waiting list. The patient was known with a gigantic arachnoid cyst and presented a transient ischemic attack one year prior, for which treatment with aspirin was initiated. Consequently, we performed a brain MRI examination, which disclosed a left-sided gigantic arachnoid cyst with mass effect, midline shift of 9 mm and subfalcine herniation. No focal neurologic deficits or signs of increased intracranial pressure were found on neurological examination. Following neurosurgical evaluation, the presence of the cyst was not deemed to be a contraindication for liver transplantation.

We present the case of a 69-year-old male, alcohol consumer, who was brought in by the ambulance for language impairment with onset two days prior to presentation in our hospital. Medical history revealed therapeutically neglected gout and colchicine allergy. On neurological exam, the patient presented predominantly motor aphasia with poor verbal fluency and anomic elements, mild right-sided hemiparesis 4/5 MRC and right-sided Babinski sign. Still, he was conscious and cooperative, and denied any recent head trauma or headache. Based on clinical picture, an acute cerebrovascular event was suspected, and the patient was hospitalized. However, brain CT revealed a late subacute subdural hematoma in the left hemisphere, with maximum thickness of 20 mm and displacement of median structures by 12 mm to the right (subfalcine herniation). The patient was then rapidly transferred to a Neurosurgical department for appropriate treatment and care.

Diabetic striatopathy is an uncommon complication of diabetes mellitus, usually characterized by hemichorea-hemiballismus with T1-high signal intensities involving the contralateral striatum. We present the case of an 81 years-old woman with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus, who was rushed to the hospital for acute-onset right-sided hemiparesis, somnolence and aphasia. Blood analysis revealed hyperglycemia (412 mg/dl) and raised level of glycated hemoglobin (14.5%), while head CT examination showed a spontaneous hyperdensity involving the left caudate and lenticular nuclei, with no edema. Brain MRI was also performed and highlighted T1-hyperintensities at the level of the same structures, with no diffusion restriction. The patient improved significantly under adjustment of insulin therapy. Based on these observations, a diagnosis of diabetic striatopathy was established. We present a short review of the literature regarding this condition and its main characteristics.