Transient foreign accent syndrome

Abstract

Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is a poorly understood and studied syndrome as it is indeed a rare entity. Since its first description in 1907 by French neurologist Pierre Marie involving a patient who presented with an Alsatian accent, there are approximately only 60 cases reported in the literature. The majority of such cases of FAS have been secondary to cerebrovascular accidents. Of the cases in the literature, none report such a transitory nature of FAS. In this particular case, a 55-year-old male presented with a foreign accent. This FAS was triggered by ischemia and was reversed after a seizure, the first reported in the literature. Copyright 2011 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.