[Corticobasal ganglionic degeneration: a report of 7 clinically diagnosed cases]

We report the clinical characteristics of 7 patients (5 women) from 61 through 84 years of age who were diagnosed within the last 3 years as having corticobasal ganglionic degeneration. The disease begin clinically in all patients with on asymmetric motor syndrome. Four experienced tremulousness and myoclonus in one hand, with apraxia and cortical sensory symptoms, astereognosia and sensory extinction. In 3 others, the progressive motor symptoms was mainly a pyramidal syndrome. Hand apraxia caused severe disability in the affected member and was disproportionate to the degree of motor symptoms suffered by the patient. In 3 patients with right side involvement, language-related difficulties were present; in 2 patients with aphasia, difficulties of articulation were partly caused by bucorespiratory apraxia. We believe that this disease, which is more common than believed, has a highly characteristic clinical profile that often allows its clinical diagnosis.