A Case Study on Cardiovascular Embolism and Its Impact on Facial Recognition

Abstract

This case study presents an 84-year-old man patient with cardio-genic cerebral embolism in the right middle artery territory, who showed difficulty in recognizing faces and often mistook unfamiliar people for someone he knew. He was fully conscious, with normal visual acuity, and no hemianopia, neglect, and deafness. Results from a neuropsychological examination indicated visual agnosia for prosopagnosia. An MRI showed hyperintense signals from the frontal to temporal lobes on the right side. Initially suspected to be delusional misidentification syndrome, the patient’s case differed from Fregoli syndrome as he identified unfamiliar people as persons close to him. This case highlights the importance of careful diagnosis and assessment in patients with visual agnosia for prosopagnosia, which can have significant impact on daily life and functioning.