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Alien hand syndrome in ruptured aneurysms: case report and review of the literature

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Abstract

Alien hand syndrome is a rare condition associated with lesions of the corpus callosum and of the supplementary motor area, which can be caused by ruptured cerebral aneurysms. We present a novel case of a patient with a subarachnoid haemorrhage from an aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery who developed alien hand syndrome and intermanual conflict. In addition, we performed a systematic literature search and evaluated data on clinical presentation, treatment and radiological findings from relevant papers. To date, 17 cases of alien hand syndrome in aneurysmatic subarachnoid haemorrhage have been reported. Aneurysms of the anterior communicating artery were the most common origin of subarachnoid haemorrhage (10/17), followed by pericallosal artery aneurysms (7/10). The prognosis appears to be favourable; however, damage to the supplementary motor area during treatment should be avoided to keep symptoms minimal.

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Acknowledgements

This study was partially presented as an e-poster at the annual conference of the German Society of Neurosurgery (DGNC) on 8 June 2020 in Erfurt.

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Correspondence to Anna Cecilia Lawson McLean.

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Informed consent was obtained from the patient presented in the case report.

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Lawson McLean, A.C., Lobsien, E., Leinisch, E. et al. Alien hand syndrome in ruptured aneurysms: case report and review of the literature. Neuroradiology 64, 2091–2094 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-022-03025-5

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