Agraphia Caused by Left Thalamic Hemorrhage

A 71-year-old right-handed man was admitted to our hospital with right hemiparesis and sensory impairment associated with mild aphasia. Although aphasia gradually resolved within 2 weeks after stroke onset, his writing ability remained disturbed. A computed tomography (CT) scan at stroke onset revea...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Aiko Osawa, Shinichiro Maeshima, Fumitaka Yamane, Nahoko Uemiya, Ikuo Ochiai, Tomoyuki Yoshihara, Shoichiro Ishihara, Norio Tanahashi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Karger Publishers 2013-04-01
Series:Case Reports in Neurology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/350713
Description
Summary:A 71-year-old right-handed man was admitted to our hospital with right hemiparesis and sensory impairment associated with mild aphasia. Although aphasia gradually resolved within 2 weeks after stroke onset, his writing ability remained disturbed. A computed tomography (CT) scan at stroke onset revealed a hematoma in the left thalamus, but no cortical lesions were observed. Further, a single-photon emission CT (SPECT) scan showed decreased blood flow in the left thalamus, in the cortical region extending from the left superior temporal gyrus to the parietal lobe, and in the frontal lobe. It is possible that agraphia may have directly resulted from the thalamic lesion, but SPECT findings strongly suggested that a general decrease in left cortical function concomitant with a disruption of the thalamocortical and cortico-thalamocortical projection fibers produced these cognitive deficits.
ISSN:1662-680X