Symptomatic palatal myoclonus: an unusual cause of respiratory difficulty.

A 67-year-old man presented with dysphagia and difficulty breathing. Physical examination revealed palatal myoclonus. In this patient, the respiratory difficulty was caused by the fragmentation of breathing. Electromyographic examination of the cricothyroid muscle demonstrated rhythmic myoclonic jerks. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) yielded a pontine midline and right sided tegmental infarct. The patient responded to sodium valproate.