Case Report: 84 year-old woman with alien hand syndrome [version 1; referees: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]
Background: Alien hand syndrome [AHS] is a rare and ill-defined neurological disorder. It produces complex, goal-directed motion of one hand that is involuntarily instigated. This syndrome characteristically arises after brain trauma, brain surgery, stroke or encephalitis. We describe a case of AHS...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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F1000 Research Ltd
2016-07-01
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| Series: | F1000Research |
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| Online Access: | https://f1000research.com/articles/5-1564/v1 |
| _version_ | 1818398950776897536 |
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| author | Ihtesham Aatif Qureshi Daniel Korya Darine Kassar Mohammed Moussavi |
| author_facet | Ihtesham Aatif Qureshi Daniel Korya Darine Kassar Mohammed Moussavi |
| author_sort | Ihtesham Aatif Qureshi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Alien hand syndrome [AHS] is a rare and ill-defined neurological disorder. It produces complex, goal-directed motion of one hand that is involuntarily instigated. This syndrome characteristically arises after brain trauma, brain surgery, stroke or encephalitis. We describe a case of AHS in a patient who had a previous episode of subarachnoid hemorrhage affecting the left frontal lobe and corpus callosum. Case presentation: An 84-year-old woman presented to the emergency department complaining of headaches and several episodes of her left arm moving as if it was groping around trying to grab at her own body. A computed tomography scan of the head demonstrated an acute left superior frontal hemorrhage with compression of the corpus callosum. Transcranial Doppler report showed no significant abnormality in the insonated vessels. After being stabilized for the acute bleed, she was treated with clonazepam 0.5 mgat night for the uncontrolled hand movements. Her movements resolved by her next month follow up. The diagnosis of AHS was made based on her clinical presentation, characterization of the movement and localization correlating with findings in neuroimaging. Conclusion: We document a rare neurologic disorder seen in patients presenting with a history of previous strokes and a typical description of involuntary and unintentional, uncontrolled unilateral arm movements with repetitive grasping. The present case has a combination of frontal and callosal lesions. These findings appear to support a potential destruction leading to the rare syndrome. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T07:12:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1a44d8b912ef42ca9bfa275e35270df0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2046-1402 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T07:12:56Z |
| publishDate | 2016-07-01 |
| publisher | F1000 Research Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | F1000Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-1a44d8b912ef42ca9bfa275e35270df02022-12-21T23:11:45ZengF1000 Research LtdF1000Research2046-14022016-07-01510.12688/f1000research.9096.19790Case Report: 84 year-old woman with alien hand syndrome [version 1; referees: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]Ihtesham Aatif Qureshi0Daniel Korya1Darine Kassar2Mohammed Moussavi3Texas Tech University of Health Sciences Center, El Paso, USAStroke & Neurovascular Center at JFK Neuroscience Institute, Edison, USATexas Tech University of Health Sciences Center, El Paso, USAStroke & Neurovascular Center at JFK Neuroscience Institute, Edison, USABackground: Alien hand syndrome [AHS] is a rare and ill-defined neurological disorder. It produces complex, goal-directed motion of one hand that is involuntarily instigated. This syndrome characteristically arises after brain trauma, brain surgery, stroke or encephalitis. We describe a case of AHS in a patient who had a previous episode of subarachnoid hemorrhage affecting the left frontal lobe and corpus callosum. Case presentation: An 84-year-old woman presented to the emergency department complaining of headaches and several episodes of her left arm moving as if it was groping around trying to grab at her own body. A computed tomography scan of the head demonstrated an acute left superior frontal hemorrhage with compression of the corpus callosum. Transcranial Doppler report showed no significant abnormality in the insonated vessels. After being stabilized for the acute bleed, she was treated with clonazepam 0.5 mgat night for the uncontrolled hand movements. Her movements resolved by her next month follow up. The diagnosis of AHS was made based on her clinical presentation, characterization of the movement and localization correlating with findings in neuroimaging. Conclusion: We document a rare neurologic disorder seen in patients presenting with a history of previous strokes and a typical description of involuntary and unintentional, uncontrolled unilateral arm movements with repetitive grasping. The present case has a combination of frontal and callosal lesions. These findings appear to support a potential destruction leading to the rare syndrome.https://f1000research.com/articles/5-1564/v1Motor SystemsMovement Disorders |
| spellingShingle | Ihtesham Aatif Qureshi Daniel Korya Darine Kassar Mohammed Moussavi Case Report: 84 year-old woman with alien hand syndrome [version 1; referees: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations] F1000Research Motor Systems Movement Disorders |
| title | Case Report: 84 year-old woman with alien hand syndrome [version 1; referees: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations] |
| title_full | Case Report: 84 year-old woman with alien hand syndrome [version 1; referees: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations] |
| title_fullStr | Case Report: 84 year-old woman with alien hand syndrome [version 1; referees: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations] |
| title_full_unstemmed | Case Report: 84 year-old woman with alien hand syndrome [version 1; referees: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations] |
| title_short | Case Report: 84 year-old woman with alien hand syndrome [version 1; referees: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations] |
| title_sort | case report 84 year old woman with alien hand syndrome version 1 referees 2 approved 1 approved with reservations |
| topic | Motor Systems Movement Disorders |
| url | https://f1000research.com/articles/5-1564/v1 |
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