Midbrain Hemorrhage Producing Pure Sensory Stroke

• Published in: Archives of neurology (Chicago) Vol. 41; no. 7; pp. 794 - 795
• Main Authors: Tuttle, Paul V, Reinmuth, Oscar M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL American Medical Association 01.07.1984
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cerebral Hemorrhage - complications; Cerebrovascular Disorders - etiology; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neurology; Sensation; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system; Human; Stroke; Nervous system diseases; Brain stem; Sensory disorder; Midbrain; Hemorrhage; Cerebrovascular disease
• ISSN: 0003-9942; 1538-3687
• DOI: 10.1001/archneur.1984.04050180120033

In 1965, Fisher1 described the clinical syndrome of pure sensory stroke and concluded that the responsible lesion was a lacunar infarct of the sensory nucleus of the thalamus. Since then, lesions involving the thalamocortical sensory pathways have also been found to produce this syndrome,2,3 but no lesion involving the subthalamic sensory pathways has yet been implicated. We report a case of pure sensory stroke resulting from a small hemorrhage in the dorsal mid-brain. REPORT OF A CASE A 52-year-old man was hospitalized because of the sudden onset of numbness and tingling in the right arm and leg. He felt light-headed but denied vertigo. The sensory symptoms became maximal within several minutes. He did not experience headache, vomiting, weakness, or double vision. Systemic arterial hypertension had been diagnosed five years earlier but was treated for only a few weeks.On admission, the BP was 140/108 mm Hg. The