An apraxia of eyelid closure in association with frontal lobe atrophy in a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis]

A 57 year-old woman with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and an apraxia of eyelid closure was reported. Her first symptom was muscle weakness in the right arm. Since neurological examination showed mainly upper motor neuron sign with neurogenic pattern in the needle electromyograms of the tongue and limb muscles, she was diagnosed as ALS. Two years and 6 months later from onset, she showed an inability to close her eyelids voluntarily or on command with normal reflex closure. MRI of the brain showed atrophy in the frontal lobe and anterior of the temporal lobe, where 123 I-IMP SPECT revealed hypoperfusion. Considering previous reports, there might be an ALS subset who showed atrophy of frontal lobe together with apraxia of eyelid closure.