A case with a linear white matter lesion connecting striatocapsular infarction and old cortical infarction

Abstract

A 65-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of the acute onset of right hand weakness and reduction in spontaneous speech. The patient displayed right hemiparesis, subcortical aphasia and impaired executive function. An acute cerebral infarction involving the left basal ganglion (striatocapsular infarction) and an old infarction of the left superior frontal gyrus (Brodmann area 8) were detected on a brain MRI. While aphasia improved gradually, there was no improvement in the impaired executive function. A brain MRI performed after 6 months revealed a linear white matter lesion between the basal ganglion and superior frontal gyrus. We postulated that this lesion was caused by degeneration of nerve fibers between the two infarctions.