Aphasia and infarction of the posterior cerebral artery territory

Spoken language disorders are rarely mentioned in superficial infarction of the posterior cerebral (PCA) territory. Two clinical types have been reported: transcortical sensory and amnesic aphasia. Between 1979 and 1990, we studied retrospectively 76 patients suffering from an occipitotemporal infarction located in the superficial territory of the posterior cerebral artery, all well documented by CT. Aphasia was one of the first and prominent signs in 18 cases. Middle cerebral artery concomitant infarction could have been the cause of language impairment in 10. In 8 patients aphasia was only explained by a PCA territory infarct. Three patients showed features of transcortical sensory aphasia. CT localization showed internal lobe and thalamic involvement of the dominant hemisphere. Five patients exhibited word finding impairment with various degrees of amnestic syndrome. The dominant internal temporal lobe was always afffected. Dominant thalamus involvement was found in one case only. Some correlations between clinical features and anatomical support (vascular supply and anatomical structure) might be suggested in our 8 cases of aphasic disorders due to PCA infarcts. They are discussed and compared with data in the literature.     

A case of Foix-Chavany-Marie syndrome and crossed aphasia after right corona radiata infarction with history of left hemispheric infarction]

Foix-Chavany-Marie syndrome (FCMS) is a syndrome that presents facio-pharyngo-glosso-masticatory diplegia with automatic voluntary dissociation. Its most common etiology is stroke in the regions of bilateral opercula. We described a 75-year-old woman with FCMS and crossed aphasia. She had cerebral infarction of left middle cerebral artery territory 23 years before. At that time she had transient right hemiparesis, but no aphasia. This time, she suddenly became mute and was brought to our hospital. Neurological examination revealed severe weakness in her bilateral lower face, pharynx, tongue, and sternocleidomastoideus. She had no weakness of limbs. Her listening comprehension was moderately disturbed and handwriting was paragraphic. Her emotional facial movement was maintained despite of disturbed volitional facial movement. CT scan disclosed fresh infarction at the right corona radiata and old infarction at the left middle cerebral artery territory. In this patient, lesions at the left operculum and right corona radiata with the preserved right operculum gave rise to FCMS. This implies following possibilities: 1) the corticobulbar tract and corticospinal tract run separately at the corona radiata, 2) volitional and emotional tracts of facial movement run separately at the corona radiata. It was demonstrated that FCMS is not always caused by bilateral operculum lesions. Our patient did not show aphasia after the first stroke including left language area, but became severely aphasic after the right corona radiata infarction. Simultaneous occurrence of FCMS and aphasia after corona radiata lesion suggested that the corticobulbar tract and a tract that conducts linguistic information are running adjacently in the corona radiata. Our case suggested that restricted corona radiata lesion may cause severe subcortical aphasia and in case of additional contralateral corticobulbar tract lesion, severe dysarthria may occur.     

Regional cerebral blood flow correlates of aphasia outcome in cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction

The relationship between recovery from aphasia and regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) was compared in 87 patients, 44 with cerebral hemorrhage and 43 with non-embolic cerebral infarction. CBF values correlated poorly with aphasia outcome in patients with cerebral hemorrhage whereas a tight correlation was demonstrated in patients with non-embolic cerebral infarction. A marked variability of CBF values in the acute and subacute stage might account for the poor correlation between CBF and aphasia outcome in patients with cerebral hemorrhage. On the other hand, a sharp discrimination was achieved between those with a good recovery from aphasia and those with a poor recovery by the dimensions of the hematoma on CT. In non-embolic cerebral infarction, a relative frontal ischemia was associated with motor aphasia while a relative temporal ischemia was associated with sensory aphasia. This dichotomy was not demonstrated in the regional CBF values in patients with cerebral hemorrhage.     

Acute infarction limited to the lenticular nucleus: clinical,etiologic, and topographic features

BACKGROUND: Chronic diseases involving the putamen and globus pallidus induce parkinsonism and other movement disorders. Sensory and motor dysfunction from deep middle cerebral artery infarction is usually due to an involvement of the internal capsule. The clinical picture associated with isolated infarction of the lenticular nucleus is less well established. OBJECTIVE: To analyze clinical features, topographic correlations, and cause of purely lenticular ischemic infarction. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed 820 consecutive patients with deep hemispheral infarct included in the Lausanne Stroke Registry between 1986 and 1998 and selected those with isolated lenticular involvement on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: Thirteen patients had pure lenticular infarction. All had faciobrachiocrural hemisyndrome, while none showed acute or delayed parkinsonism or abnormal movement. Nine patients had a lesion restricted to the putamen. Two of them had ataxic motor hemisyndrome and 7 had sensorimotor hemisyndrome (with ataxia in 4, left hemineglect in 1, and deep pain in the arm and leg in 1). Four patients had a lesion of putamen and globus pallidus externus.Three of them had motor hemisyndrome (with nonfluent aphasia in 2 and ataxia in 1) and 1 had ataxic sensorimotor hemisyndrome. All infarcts were in the territory of the medial perforating branches of the medial cerebral artery. Presumed cause of stroke was small-artery disease in 5, artery-to-artery embolism in 4, cardioembolism in 3 and undetermined in 1. CONCLUSIONS: Acute lenticular infarction induces mainly hemiparesis but no movement disorder. Associated sensory deficits, aphasia, and hemineglect underline clinically the function of the lenticular nucleus in connection with the prefrontal, temporal, and parietal cortices.     

Is there an anatomical basis for the production of speech automatisms?

Abstract

The CT scans of fifty-nine right-handed patients who had suffered a single left middle cerebral artery infarction including more than 2% of forebrain volume were analysed for correlations between lesion configuration and the presence of speech automatisms. No remarkable effects were found concerning lesion size and configuration of the cortical lesion. All eighteen patients with speech automatisms shared a common lesion in the deep fronto-parietal white matter. This finding was assumed to indicate that the pathology underlying the production of speech automatisms involves structures in the depth of the area of supply of the middle cerebral artery. However, the pathogenesis of speech automatisms seems to be multifactorial. Parameters of lesion anatomy could account for only a fraction of the variance included in automatism production. Age at infarction was demonstrated to have a significant effect upon the production of speech automatisms.     

Crossed aphasia: a PET follow up study of two cases.

Two cases of aphasia after right hemispheric stroke in right handed patients are described. The first patient had a severe mixed transcortical aphasia, apraxia and neglect after a lesion involving the right lenticular nucleus and periventricular white matter; aphasia was still present after three months. The second patient had a mild, transient fluent aphasia after a small right hemispheric periventricular lesion. Studies with [18F]FDG and positron emission tomography (PET) showed functional depression extending to the structurally unaffected left hemisphere in both patients in the acute stage. After three months, in the patient with persistent aphasia, metabolism was still reduced in the right hemisphere, with some recovery of hypometabolism on the left, while metabolic values had returned to normal in the patient with full language recovery. A close parallelism between glucose metabolism and clinical course in crossed aphasia is shown, as well as the presence of a functional involvement of the structurally unaffected left hemisphere in the acute stage.     

交叉性失语

右利手者右大脑半球病变所致的失语称为交叉性失语。交叉性失语少见。我科八年来共诊断八例（占我组失语症患者２５０例的２．８％），均为男性右利手者，头颅ＣＴ扫描均证实右大脑半球单发病灶，其中脑梗塞７例，脑出血１例。均于发病三个月内作失语检查。其中交叉性Ｂｒｏｃａ失语一例，交叉性传导性失语一例，交叉性Ｗｅｒｎｉｃｋｅ失语一例，交叉性经皮质运动性失语一例，交叉性经皮质感觉性失语三例，交叉性丘脑性失语一例。此８例各型交叉性失语之临床表现与右利手左大脑半球病变产生的各相应类型失语无根本不同。产生交叉性失语是患者的大脑半球语言中枢的逆转所致（不在左侧而在右侧大脑半球的对称部位），它与遗传有关。失语症类型与患者年龄和性别的关系有待进一步研究。     

急性脑梗死后失语症的MRI影像学研究

目的:应用MRI检查确定急性脑梗死后失语症类型与脑梗死部位之间的关系。方法:对68例急性脑梗死后具有失语症表现患者应用汉语失语成套测验中的利手评定标准进行利手判定和汉语失语症检查进行失语症的分类,用头颅MRI确定患者的脑梗死部位及病灶体积。结果:68例急性脑梗死失语症患者均为右利手,失语症类型分别为完全性失语18例,运动性失语25例,感觉性失语7例,传导性失语7例,经皮质运动性失语7例,命名性失语4例。累及经典语言中枢的有32例,36例为非语言中枢受累。结论:急性脑梗死失语症类型与传统的失语症解剖定位不完全符合,非语言中枢梗死也可引起失语症。     

Study on the pathogenic mechanism of Broca's and Wernicke's aphasia

OBJECTIVE: To study the mechanisms of aphasia by observing cerebral blood flow and metabolism changes in language functional areas of the brain using imaging, in order to develop a language rehabilitation plan for aphasia patients. METHODS: Fifty-eight patients who suffered from Broca's or Wernicke's aphasia secondly to cerebral infarction were evaluated using the Western aphasia battery and Frenchay dysarthria assessment. CT and MRI were obtained to identify the location of lesions, and the language areas were analysed with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI). The results were compared with those of the contralateral hemisphere. RESULTS: Of the 58 patients, there were 23 Broca's aphasia patients, 29 Wernicke's aphasia patients and six other aphasia types. We excluded five patients accompanied by dysarthria, six patients with other aphasia types and 14 patients with much more disease lesions. Finally, we analysed the remaining 12 Broca's aphasia and 21 Wernicke's aphasia patients by MRS and PWI. MRS shows that the N-acetylaspartate, choline and creatine of the Broca's or Wernicke's area were reduced than those of the contralateral hemisphere, while PWI results show that the damaged Broca's or Wernicke's areas were in a hypoperfusion state. CONCLUSIONS: Broca's or Wernicke's area of aphasia patients exhibits hypoperfusion and hypometabolism, indicating that they might be the mechanisms of Broca's or Wernicke's aphasia.     

The resolving stroke and aphasia. A case study with computerized tomography.

A 39-year-old man suffered an intracerebral hemorrhage in the region of the left internal capsule deep to Wernicke's area. The location of the lesion was confirmed by computerized tomography (CT) performed two days postictally. Two weeks after admission, the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE) diclosed Wernicke's aphasia. We hypothesize that the hematoma exerted pressure on Wernicke's cortical area, thus causing the resulting Wernicke's aphasia at that time. A CT scan three months later showed absorption of the hematoma, with a residual low-density lesion deep to Wernicke's area, in the region of the arcuate fasciculus. At that time, BDAE testing disclosed a mild conduction aphasia. Serial CT scanning combined with discriminating clinical evaluation of aphasia provides a valuable opportunity for study of the processes underlying stroke resolution and aphasia.     

Tactile agnosia and tactile aphasia: symptomatological and anatomical differences.

Two patients with tactile naming disorders are reported. Case 1 (right hand tactile agnosia due to bilateral cerebral infarction) differentiated tactile qualities of objects normally, but could neither name nor categorize the objects. Case 2 (bilateral tactile aphasia after operation of an epidural left parietal haematoma) had as severe a tactile naming disturbance as Case 1, but could categorize objects normally, demonstrating that tactile recognition was preserved. Case 1 may be the first case of tactile agnosia clearly differentiated from tactile aphasia. CT scans of Case 1 revealed lesions in the left angular gyrus, and in the right parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes. Case 2 had lesions in the left angular gyrus and of posterior callosal radiations. Our findings suggest that tactile agnosia appears when the somatosensory association cortex is disconnected by a subcortical lesion of the angular gyrus from the semantic memory store located in the inferior temporal lobe, while tactile aphasia represents a tactual-verbal disconnection.     

Impairment of language is related to left parieto-temporal glucose metabolism in aphasic stroke patients

Summary Twenty-six aphasic patients who had an ischaemic infarct in the territory of the left middle cerebral artery (MCA) were investigated. Cranial computed tomography (CT) showed various lesion sites: infarcts restricted to cortical structures in 12 patients, combined cortical and subcortical infarcts in 7 and isolated subcortical infarcts sparing the left cortex in another 7 cases. ¹⁸F-2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography revealed remote hypometabolism of the left convexity cortex and of the left basal ganglia, which was extended further than the morphological infarct zone in all cases. Types and degrees of aphasia were classified using the Aachener Aphasie Test (AAT): 10 patients had global aphasia, 2 Broca's, 5 Wernicke's, and 5 amnesic aphasia. Four patients suffered from minimal or residual aphasic symptoms. The AAT results were compared with the regional cerebral metabolic rates of glucose of the left hemisphere. Irrespective of the infarct location all five AAT subtests (Token test, repetition, written language, confrontation naming, auditory and reading comprehension) were closely correlated among each other and with left parieto-temporal metabolic rates, whereas left frontal and left basal ganglia metabolism showed no significant correlation. The close relation between left temporo-parietal functional activity and all five AAT subtests suggests that the different aspects of aphasia tested by AAT can be related to a common disorder of language processing in those areas.     

Transcortical sensory aphasia due to extensive infarction of left cerebral hemisphere]

We report a case of transcortical sensory aphasia occurred after extensive infarction of left cerebral hemisphere. A 68-year-old, right-handed man with atrial fibrillation suddenly developed cerebral embolism of left middle cerebral artery. He was treated conservatively, and the right hemiplegia, aphasia, apraxia in a slight degree and right hemispatial neglect in a slight degree consequently existed. MRI showed a large cortical and subcortical infarct lesion including the left Broca's area, central region, perisylvian area with Wernicke's area and temporal lobe. In contrast, neuropsychological evaluation using the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) demonstrated transcortical sensory aphasia, e.g., fluency 8, auditory comprehension 1. repetition 10 and object naming 2.4. In addition to preserved repetition, both linguistic prosody and affective prosody were well preserved. Most cases with transcortical sensory aphasia are known to occur with the lesion including temporo-parieto-occipital junction of dominant hemisphere. Our patient and a few other reported cases of transcortical sensory aphasia had a lesion in perisylvian area including Wernicke's area. Therefore, it is possible that their minor hemisphere worked selectively for repetition. Furthermore, we suggest that this patient presented dissociative aphasia that all the process of repetition and the function of linguistic and emotional prosody were represented in the right hemisphere and the other functions including comprehension of word meanings were existed in the left hemisphere. We believe that our case of transcortical sensory aphasia with dissociative aphasia gives a suggestion about the mechanism and localization of repetition and prosody in the whole system of language.     

急性脑梗死的320排动态容积CT脑灌注成像研究

目的研究320排动态容积CT全脑灌注成像(CTP)在脑梗死患者中的价值。方法对2014-01—2016-01驻马店市中心医院收治的33例脑梗死患者采取CT全脑灌注成像检查,测量梗死核心区、缺血半暗带(IP)与健侧镜像区的脑血流量(CBF)、脑血容量(CBV)、达峰时间(TTP)及平均通过时间(MTT)值,计算梗死核心区及IP的相对脑血流量(rCBF)、相对脑血容量(rCBV)、相对达峰时间(rTTP)、相对平均通过时间(rMTT),并进行对比分析。结果 33例患者中,头颅平扫发现9例早期脑梗死征象,其余24例未发现异常。33例患者行CTP成像均发现异常灌注区,其中25例存在IP;与健侧镜像区对比,CBV无显著差异(P0.05),而TTP、MTT值明显延长,CBF显著降低,差异有统计学意义(P0.05);与梗死核心区对比,CBF、CBV升高,TTP缩短,MTT延长,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05)。IP区与梗死核心区rCBF、rCBV、rTTP、rMTT对比,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。10例超急性期(发病6h以内)、15例急性期(发病6~72h)中11例、8例亚急性期(发病72h~14d)中4例存在IP。缺血半暗带分期:Ⅰ2期6例,Ⅱ1期12例,Ⅱ2期7例。结论 320排动态容积CT全脑灌注成像可通过注射一次对比剂获得常规CT、CTP、CTA数据,对脑梗死患者的病变部位、范围及有无IP等提供明确的影像学依据,且可对IP进行分期,为临床实现对患者的个体化治疗提供了可能,且显著降低了患者所受的辐射剂量,安全性高。     

Correlation of aphasia and/or neglect with cortical infarction in a subpopulation of RANTTAS

Classically in neurology, aphasia and neglect were accepted as reliable markers of cortical lesions. The actual prognostic values of aphasia and neglect have yet to be formally tested. This analysis sought to determine the predictive accuracy of aphasia and/or neglect in acute stroke for cortical infarction. Data from the RANTTAS investigation of tirilazad mesylate in stroke patients were reanalyzed, comparing acute National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) measures of aphasia and neglect to lesion location on day 7-10 CT scans. Correlations between the presence of aphasia and/or neglect and the presence of a cortical lesion were only in the moderate range, and positive predictive values were far from perfect, as would be expected. 'Subcortical' aphasia or neglect was more likely in large, subcortical lesions. Aphasia and neglect, as determined in the acute setting by the NIHSS, are only moderately associated with cortical infarct identified on follow-up CT scans. If selective neuroprotection is envisioned for acute stroke patients, more accurate markers of cortical infarction may be needed.     

Spectrum of anterior cerebral artery territory infarction: clinical and MRI findings

To evaluate and review the clinical spectrum of anterior cerebral artery (ACA) territory infarction, we studied 48 consecutive patients who admitted to our stroke unit over a 6-year period. We performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) in all patients, and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) in 21. In our stroke registry, patients with ACA infarction represented 1.3% of 3705 patients with ischemic stroke. The main risk factors of ACA infarcts was hypertension in 58% of patients, diabetes mellitus in 29%, hypercholesterolemia in 25%, cigarette smoking in 19%, atrial fibrillation in 19%, and myocardial infarct in 6%. Presumed causes of ACA infarct were large-artery disease and cardioembolism in 13 patients each, small-artery disease (SAD) in the territory of Heubner's artery in two and atherosclerosis of large-arteries (<50% stenosis) in 16. On clinico-radiologic analysis there were three main clinical patterns depending on lesion side; left-side infarction (30 patients) consisting of mutism, transcortical motor aphasia, and hemiparesis with lower limb predominance; right side infarction (16 patients) accompanied by acute confusional state, motor hemineglect and hemiparesis; bilateral infarction (two patients) presented with akinetic mutism, severe sphincter dysfunction, and dependent functional outcome. Our findings suggest that clinical and etiologic spectrum of ACA infarction may present similar features as that of middle cerebral artery infarction, but frontal dysfunctions and callosal syndromes can help to make a clinical differential diagnosis. Moreover, at the early phase of stroke, DWI is useful imaging method to locate and delineate the boundary of lesion in the territory of ACA.     

Moyamoya病的临床表现与影像学特点

目的 回顾分析12例Moyamoya病的临床和影像学特征，探讨Moyamoya病的影像学诊断价值。方法 分析12例Moyamoya病患的临床资料及数字减影血管造影(DSA)、磁共振血管造影(MRA)、磁共振成像(MRI)和CT结果。结果 所有病例均表现有颈内动脉或其分支不同程度的狭窄或闭塞和颅底异常血管网(MMD血管)；其中病变呈双侧8例．单侧4例。12例中头颅CT表现有梗塞灶4例，脑出血5例，其余3例表现正常。结论 除DsA外．MRI和MRA是两种可以很好评价Moyamoya病的影像学方法。若儿童或青壮年发生脑血管病，反复出现脑梗死或出现脑室出血、脑叶出血或蛛网膜下腔出血(SAH)则要考虑Moyamoya病的可能。     

Crossed aphasia: functional studies with single photon emission computerized tomography

The correlation between clinical picture, CT scan and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) assessed by single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) was investigated in two patients with crossed aphasia. The presence and degree or right hemisphere dysfunction, beyond the areas affected by CT, closely paralleled the time course of language disturbances in both patients: transient aphasia in case 1 was associated with temporary reduction of perfusion in the right hemisphere, while in case 2 persistent aphasia and apraxia were found along with severe right hemisphere hypoperfusion three year after the onset of stroke.     

Delayed increase in infarct volume after cerebral ischemia: correlations with thrombolytic treatment and clinical outcome

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Growing experimental evidence indicates that the development of cerebral ischemic damage is slower than previously believed. The aims of this work were (1) to study the evolution of CT hypoattenuation between 24 to 36 hours and 7 days in ischemic stroke patients; (2) to evaluate whether thrombolytic treatment given within 6 hours of stroke affects delayed infarction evolution; and (3) to investigate possible correlations between lesion volume changes over time and clinical outcome. METHODS: Of 620 patients included in the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study 1 (ECASS1), we selected 450 patients whose control CT scans at day 1 (CT1) and day 7 (CT7) were available. They had been randomly divided into 2 groups: 206 patients had been treated with rtPA and 244 with placebo. CT1 and CT7 were classified according to the location of the infarct. The volume of CT hypoattenuation was measured using the formula AxBxC/2 for irregular volumes. The 95% confidence interval of inter- and intrarater variability was used to determine whether significant changes in lesion volume had occurred between CT1 and CT7. Clinical severity was evaluated by means of the Scandinavian Stroke Scale (SSS) at entry (SSS0) and at day 30 (SSS30). RESULTS: Mean lesion volumes were significantly (P<0.0001) higher at day 7 than at day 1 in all the subgroups of patients and particularly in patients with a subcortical lesion. Of the 450 patients studied, 287 (64%) did not show any significant change in lesion volume between CT1 and CT7, 143 (32%) showed a significant increase and the remaining 20 (4%) a significant decrease. No significant correlation was observed between treatment and lesion evolution between CT1 and CT7. Both clinical scores (SSS0 and SSS30) and degree of neurological recovery were significantly (P<0.05) lower in the subgroup of patients with a significant lesion volume increase than in the other 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: In approximately two thirds of patients, infarct size is established 24 to 36 hours after stroke onset, whereas in the remaining one third, changes in lesion volume may occur later than the first 24 to 36 hours. Many factors may be responsible for delayed infarct enlargement and for a lower degree of clinical recovery, both of which may occur despite early recombinant tissue plasminogen activator treatment.     

DWI及MRA在大面积脑梗塞早期诊断中的价值

目的:评价弥散加权磁共振成像DWI和磁共振血管成像MRA对早期大面积脑梗塞的诊断价值。方法:对24例早期大面积脑梗塞的临床和磁共振资料进行分析,全部患者均行DWI及MRA检查。结果:24例早期大面积脑梗塞中,13例急性期CT扫描未检测出确切病灶,DWI扫描全部出现大片异常高信号,病灶检出率为100％。而在常规T2WI检查中,7例为阴性,病灶检出率为69％。MRA发现血管异常24例,表现为供血动脉闭塞,狭窄、硬化。结论: DWI有助于明确早期大面积脑梗塞病变范围,且能区别新旧病灶。MRA能直接显示大面积脑梗塞闭塞的供血脑血管,联合使用DWI和MRA对早期大面积脑梗塞诊断有重要的临床价值,也有利于早期合理的治疗方案制定及预后判断。