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Micrographia secondary to lenticular lesions
Pascal Derkinderen1, Sophie Dupont, Jean-Sébastien Vidal
1Department of Neurology, Hôpital Saint Antoine, Paris, France.
Movement Disorders : Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society
|September 5, 2002
Summary
Stroke can cause micrographia, a condition of small handwriting. Left lenticular nucleus infarcts may lead to pure micrographia or micrographia with writer's cramp symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Neuroscience
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Micrographia, characterized by abnormally small handwriting, can be a symptom of various neurological conditions.
- Writer's cramp is a focal dystonia affecting the hand, often impacting writing.
- The precise neurological underpinnings of micrographia, particularly its association with focal dystonia, require further elucidation.
Observation:
- Four patients experiencing a stroke presented with the development of micrographia.
- In two of these patients, micrographia was the sole symptom.
- The other two patients exhibited micrographia alongside clinical signs indicative of writer's cramp.
Findings:
- Infarction within the left lenticular nucleus was identified as the cause of micrographia in these patients.
- The specific presentation of micrographia varied, with some cases mimicking Parkinsonian micrographia.
- Other cases demonstrated micrographia associated with features of dystonia, specifically writer's cramp.
Implications:
- Left lenticular nucleus infarcts represent a potential cause of micrographia.
- These findings suggest that lenticular nucleus lesions can manifest as pure micrographia or a combination of micrographia and dystonia.
- Understanding these stroke-induced changes in handwriting can aid in differential diagnosis and patient management.