Abstract: Objective To analyze the clinical features and prognosis of central pontine myelinolysis. Methods 20 cases with CPM diagnosed in last 10 years were reviewed and compared with those patients of foreign studies. Results 10 patients with hemoptysis were treated with hypophysin, which resulted in severe hyponatremia and osmotic myelinolysis. The main syndrom were dysarthria and dysphagia (secondary to corticobulbar fiber involvement), flaccid quadriparesis (as corticospinal tract involved) which later became spastic. The myelinolysis distrubuted symmetrically along the myelin disruption in the center basal, as well as independently in other brain areas (extrapontine myelinolysis or EPM), including the cerebellar and neocortical white/gray junctional areas, thalamus and striatum. Conclusion Supplement of sodium should be slower and more persistent for hyponatremia, the selection of drugs should be based on the patients' specific conditions.

Key words: central pontine myelinolysis, extrapontine myelinolysis, hyponatremia, hypophysin, Barthel index, Mini Mental State Examination