Artery of Percheron Infarction as an Unusual Cause of Korsakoff’s Syndrome
The Korsakoff syndrome is defined as “an abnormal mental state in which memory and learning are affected out of all proportion to other cognitive functions in an otherwise alert and responsive patient.” Confabulation refers to false or erroneous memories arising, not deliberately, in the context of...
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Wiley
2015-01-01
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| Series: | Case Reports in Neurological Medicine |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/927809 |
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| author | Yongxing Zhou Derrick Fox Abhishek Anand Amal Elhaj Arushi Kapoor Faranak Najibi Han Kim Roger Weir Annapurni Jayam-Trouth |
| author_facet | Yongxing Zhou Derrick Fox Abhishek Anand Amal Elhaj Arushi Kapoor Faranak Najibi Han Kim Roger Weir Annapurni Jayam-Trouth |
| author_sort | Yongxing Zhou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Korsakoff syndrome is defined as “an abnormal mental state in which memory and learning are affected out of all proportion to other cognitive functions in an otherwise alert and responsive patient.” Confabulation refers to false or erroneous memories arising, not deliberately, in the context of a neurological amnesia and is often thought of as pathognomonic of the Korsakoff syndrome. Although the exact pathophysiology is unknown, various studies have identified brain lesions in the thalami, mammillary bodies, and frontal cortex. We report a case of a 68-year-old male presenting with acute altered mental status on July 16, 2015. The neuropsychological dysfunctions included prominent Korsakoff’s syndrome, which became apparent when the altered mental status resolved. Amnesia was accompanied by prominent confabulation, disorientation, and lack of insight into his own disability. Neuroradiological data indicated that the intralaminar and dorsomedial nuclei in bilateral thalami were infarcted by occlusion of the artery of Percheron. We believe that ours is one of few reported cases of Korsakoff syndrome in a patient with infarction involving the territory of the artery of Percheron. We conclude that bilateral thalamic lesions could cause Korsakoff’s syndrome and the intralaminar and dorsomedial nuclei might be important structures in the pathogenesis of confabulation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b64c9f8f09da438b9257cf608de06306 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-6668 2090-6676 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Reports in Neurological Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-b64c9f8f09da438b9257cf608de063062025-02-03T05:43:59ZengWileyCase Reports in Neurological Medicine2090-66682090-66762015-01-01201510.1155/2015/927809927809Artery of Percheron Infarction as an Unusual Cause of Korsakoff’s SyndromeYongxing Zhou0Derrick Fox1Abhishek Anand2Amal Elhaj3Arushi Kapoor4Faranak Najibi5Han Kim6Roger Weir7Annapurni Jayam-Trouth8Department of Neurology, Howard University Hospital, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20060, USADepartment of Neurology, Howard University Hospital, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20060, USADepartment of Neurology, Howard University Hospital, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20060, USADepartment of Neurology, Howard University Hospital, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20060, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Howard University Hospital, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20060, USADepartment of Neurology, Howard University Hospital, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20060, USADepartment of Radiology, Howard University Hospital, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20060, USADepartment of Neurology, Howard University Hospital, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20060, USADepartment of Neurology, Howard University Hospital, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20060, USAThe Korsakoff syndrome is defined as “an abnormal mental state in which memory and learning are affected out of all proportion to other cognitive functions in an otherwise alert and responsive patient.” Confabulation refers to false or erroneous memories arising, not deliberately, in the context of a neurological amnesia and is often thought of as pathognomonic of the Korsakoff syndrome. Although the exact pathophysiology is unknown, various studies have identified brain lesions in the thalami, mammillary bodies, and frontal cortex. We report a case of a 68-year-old male presenting with acute altered mental status on July 16, 2015. The neuropsychological dysfunctions included prominent Korsakoff’s syndrome, which became apparent when the altered mental status resolved. Amnesia was accompanied by prominent confabulation, disorientation, and lack of insight into his own disability. Neuroradiological data indicated that the intralaminar and dorsomedial nuclei in bilateral thalami were infarcted by occlusion of the artery of Percheron. We believe that ours is one of few reported cases of Korsakoff syndrome in a patient with infarction involving the territory of the artery of Percheron. We conclude that bilateral thalamic lesions could cause Korsakoff’s syndrome and the intralaminar and dorsomedial nuclei might be important structures in the pathogenesis of confabulation.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/927809 |
| spellingShingle | Yongxing Zhou Derrick Fox Abhishek Anand Amal Elhaj Arushi Kapoor Faranak Najibi Han Kim Roger Weir Annapurni Jayam-Trouth Artery of Percheron Infarction as an Unusual Cause of Korsakoff’s Syndrome Case Reports in Neurological Medicine |
| title | Artery of Percheron Infarction as an Unusual Cause of Korsakoff’s Syndrome |
| title_full | Artery of Percheron Infarction as an Unusual Cause of Korsakoff’s Syndrome |
| title_fullStr | Artery of Percheron Infarction as an Unusual Cause of Korsakoff’s Syndrome |
| title_full_unstemmed | Artery of Percheron Infarction as an Unusual Cause of Korsakoff’s Syndrome |
| title_short | Artery of Percheron Infarction as an Unusual Cause of Korsakoff’s Syndrome |
| title_sort | artery of percheron infarction as an unusual cause of korsakoff s syndrome |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/927809 |
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