Hemiballismus: Detection of focal hemorrhage in subthalamic nucleus by ct scan

Abstract

It is generally accepted from postmortem and experimental study that the lesion responsible for hemiballismus is localized in the contralateral subthalamic nucleus IS, 31.T h e following report indicates that the C T scan provides similar information.A 65-year-old woman with longstanding hypertension and ischemic heart disease was admitted 24 hours after the sudden onset of involuntary movements involving the left upper limb. Examination showed rapid, uncontrollable, large-amplitude flinging movements involving the left upper extremity and to a lesser extent the left lower one. T h e hemiballistic movements were accentuated by any attempt to move. decreased when the patient was relaxed, and disappeared during sleep.O n the day of admission, a CT scan using the EM1 scanner showed, both with and without enhancement, a small, wt.ll-defined density compatible with a hemorrhage in the region corresponding to the right subthalamic nucleus (Figure). T h e lesion was visible only o n the lower of the

Lacunes.

“…This sign occurs in 26% of cases with an equal frequency in single or multiple lacunes visible on CT scan. 20 However, this finding may simply mean that some of the lacunes are too small to be seen on CT scan.…”

Subthalamotomy in the treatment of Parkinson's disease: clinical aspects and mechanisms of action

“…35 The development of hemiballismus in normal monkeys was confirmed in nonparkinsonian patients following lesioning restricted to the STN. 46,104,108,118 Nevertheless, several authors performed so-called subthalamotomies for PD, giving rise to a great wealth of publications in the 1960s and 1970s. 13,74,102,146 During the lesioning era, the target for subthalamotomy was not the STN as it is today.…”

Post-stroke movement disorders: report of 56 patients

“…nvoluntary abnormal movements (IAMs) caused by strokes are relatively common, [1][2][3][4] and chorea, [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] tremor, [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] dystonia, [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] parkinsonism, [44][45][46][47][48][49][50]…”