[Anosognosia for hemiplegia in a patient with pontine infarction]

We report a patient with anosognosia for hemiplegia associated with a right pontine infarction. A 51-year-old woman with histories of hypertension and diabetes mellitus was admitted because of weakness of her left upper and lower extremities. On neurologic examination, she was alert and oriented without dementia. Visuospatial hemineglect was not present. Hemiparesis of her left upper and lower extremities was noted. Her brain MRIs showed a large infarction in the right pons. On admission, she could recognize her illness but was indifferent to her hemiplegia, so she said that there was not well-off for her life. Two weeks after the onset, her neurological symptoms gradually improved. Simultaneously, her interest in her hemiparesis increased. We proposed that, in the present patient, anosognosia for hemiplegia was caused by the pontine infarction. Since pontine anosognosia for hemiplegia has been rarely reported to date, it is expected that the findings of the present patient will be useful to the better understanding of mechanisms underlying anosognosia.