[Ruptured distal anterior cerebral artery aneurysm and diagnostic dyspraxia: a case report]

A case of ruptured distal anterior cerebral artery aneurysm presenting with diagnostic dyspraxia is presented. A 54-year-old female was referred to our hospital with the complaint of sudden onset of headache followed by disturbance of consciousness. CT and MRI revealed subarachnoid hemorrhage with hematomas in the interhemispheric fissure and the supracallosal area, and CAG revealed a left-sided callosomarginal artery aneurysm. During and after hospitalization, she showed diagnostic dyspraxia characterized by behavior of both her hands opposite to what might be expected e.g. when she tried to pick up a bowl, both her hands moved forward and held it at once; she wiped her head and face with toilet paper after urination. At times her hands behaved in opposite ways. For example, while folding cloths, her right hand tended to fold them while the left hand tended to unfold them; when she put on a sweater, as the right hand put it on, the left hand took it off; when she put her shirt into her trousers, one hand pushed it in while the other hand pulled it out. This unusual behavior was considered to be caused by the impairment of the corpus callosum due to compression by the hematoma. It disappeared gradually over a period of one year. Involuntary motor behavior of the left hand while the right hand is in voluntary action is known as diagnostic dyspraxia. Although this symptom has rarely been reported so far in cases of ruptured distal anterior cerebral artery, it may become noticed more frequently through careful observation.