J Clin Neurol.  2009 Mar;5(1):46-48.

Right Sensory Alien Hand Phenomenon from a Left Pontine Hemorrhage

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Neurology, University of California at Irvine Medical Center, California, USA. gychang@uci.edu

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Acute onset of a sensory alien hand phenomenon has been observed only from a supratentorial lesion involving the non-dominant hand, mostly from a right posterior cerebral artery infarction. A single acute vascular lesion resulting in a dominant hand sensory alien hand syndrome has not been previously documented.
CASE REPORT
A 78-year old right-handed woman exhibited right sensory alien hand phenomenon from a left pontine hemorrhage. Disturbance of proprioceptive input and visuospatial perception are likely to play a role in manifesting the sign.
CONCLUSIONS
Dominant-hand sensory alien hand phenomenon may occur in an acute setting from a left pontine hemorrhage.

Keyword

sensory alien hand; dominant limb; pontine hemorrhage

MeSH Terms

Alien Hand Syndrome
Emigrants and Immigrants
Female
Hand
Hemorrhage
Humans
Infarction, Posterior Cerebral Artery

Figure

  • Fig. 1 A: Non-enhanced CT at the level of mid-upper pons demonstrating foci of hemorrhage adjacent to the floor of the 4th ventricle. Less dense hemorrhage extends to the left pontine tegmentum. B: Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) from median nerve stimulation demonstrating absence of cortical response from the right hand.


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