Brainstem swelling and noncommunicating hydrocephalus caused by hypertensive brainstem encephalopathy.

Hypertensive encephalopathy is a life-threatening medical condition manifested by headache, confusion, seizures, and visual disturbance, and, if treatment is delayed, it may progress to coma and death [1, 2] (Chester et al., Neurology 28:928-939, 1978; Vaughan and Delanty, Lancet 356:411-417, 2000). Involvement of the brainstem with or without supratentorial lesions has been reported and is termed hypertensive brainstem encephalopathy (HBE).