Journal article
Thalamic aphasia secondary to glioblastoma multiforme
Journal of clinical neuroscience, Vol.74, pp.234-238
04/2020
DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2020.01.063
PMID: 31973919
Abstract
•The clinical presentation of thalamic aphasia varies, and it can present as global aphasia, expressive aphasia, or transcortical aphasia.•Thalamic aphasia most commonly presents after lesions affecting the left (dominant) thalamus, but cases of aphasia in right-sided lesions were also noted.•The management and the prognosis of thalamic aphasia largely depend on the underlying cause – hemorrhage, infarction, or tumor.
Thalamic aphasia is an unusual clinical presentation of brain neoplasm with few cases reported. Herein, we present a case of an adult woman with thalamic aphasia due to glioblastoma of the thalamus.
A 57-year-old female patient presented with difficulty walking, slow speech and cognition and altered mental status. At baseline, she was conversant and interactive. Physical examination showed right hemiparesis in addition to word finding difficulties, an impaired naming of objects and semantic paraphasia but preserved repetition and comprehension. The remaining neurological exam was otherwise unremarkable. Brain CT and brain MRI scans showed a left thalamic lesion that is centrally necrotic and peripherally enhancing suggestive of a high-grade neoplasm. Eventually, histopathological examination of brain biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of glioblastoma multiforme. Thalamic aphasia was proposed as an explanation for the neurological symptoms observed in this patient.
This patient demonstrates an unusual presentation of glioblastoma multiforme as thalamic aphasia. It may also point to the potential contribution of the understanding of how thalamic aphasia evolves to characterize the role of the thalamus in language functions.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Thalamic aphasia secondary to glioblastoma multiforme
- Creators
- Amjad Samara - Arkansas Children's Nutrition CenterBrent Berry - University of MinnesotaMalik Ghannam - University of Minnesota
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of clinical neuroscience, Vol.74, pp.234-238
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jocn.2020.01.063
- PMID
- 31973919
- ISSN
- 0967-5868
- eISSN
- 1532-2653
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 04/2020
- Academic Unit
- Neurology
- Record Identifier
- 9984585317502771
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