Alexia, without agraphia, due to brain tumor: A reversible syndrome

From 1973 to 1982, 189 patients were treated at the Dartmouth‐Hitchcock Medical Center for Stage C or D prostatic carcinoma. In eight of these cases (4.2%), there was clinical or pathological evidence for intracranial metastases. The condition of subdural neoplastic spread, not from contiguous bone, was identified in five cases, two of which were suspected before death. Four of these five patients were thrombocytopenic or pancytopenic at the time of the diagnosis. Intraparenchymal brain metastases were identified in six cases. Cerebellar, temporal bone, cavernous sinus, and splenium infiltration by tumor were unusual findings in individual cases. The results of chest x‐rays and respiratory status were poor predictors of lung metastases in four of five patients on whom autopsies were performed. This article describes the spectrum of radiographic and pathologic findings of intracranial prostatic carcinoma, and suggests that the likely mechanism of brain metastasis in these cases is by the dural veins and Virchow‐Robin spaces.

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“…T h e average age of our patients was 66 years. T h e incidence of in- No. 9 INTRACRANIAL PROSTATIC CA -Castaldo et af.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intracranial metastases due to prostatic carcinoma

Castaldo

Bernat

Meier

et al. 1983

Cancer

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“…In reported cases of alexia without agraphia, infarction in the distribution of the left posterior cerebral artery (PCA) (Fig. 3 a) it the most common pathologic process [13][14][15]. The left visual cortex is supplied directly by the left PCA and compromise of this artery therefore results in varying degrees of infarction of this region, destroying input from this area to the angular gyrus and causing the right homonymous hemianopia commonly associated with this syndrome.…”

Section: Pathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While most cases of this syndrome have been reported in the setting of ischemic or thromboembolic disease [13][14][15][17][18][19], cases associated with transtentorial herniation [20], migraine [21], intra-and extraaxial left occipital region neoplasms [4,[14][15][16]22] and surgery for a left occipital lobe vascular malformation [23] have also been reported, as have cases in the setting of carbon monoxide poisoning [24] and cerebral abscess [25]. Theoretically, any process (e. g. multiple metastases, traumatic shear hemorrhages, demyelinating plaques, etc.)…”

Section: Etiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Alexia without agraphia

Quint

Gilmore

1992

Neuroradiology

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“…More recent case reports on alexia have focused on acquired alexias by uncommon etiologies including clotting disorders (Celebisoy, Sagduyu, & Atac, 2005), herpes simplex or toxoplasma encephalitis (Erdem & Kansu, 1995;Luscher & Horber, 1992), tumors (Turgman, Goldhammer, & Braham, 1979), multiple sclerosis (Dogulu, Kansu, & Karabudak, 1996), eclampsia (Sabet, Blake, & Nguyen, 2004), head injuries (Bhatoe & Rohatgi, 2002), status epilepticus (Kutluay, Pakoz, Yuksel, & Beydoun, 2007), Creutzfeld-jakob disease (Adair, Cooke, & Jankovic, 2007), hemorrhage (Thomas & Sanford, 2007), HIV (Garcia, Corral, Cobo, & Quereda, 2006), and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (Little & Goldstein, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%