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Dejerine-Roussy disease

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Syndrome due to lesions of the posterior thalamus. Characterized by severe scalding, shooting or stabbing pain on the opposite side of the body following a stroke, sensory disturbances, transient hemiplegia hemitaxia, and choreoathetotic movements. Dejerine and Roussy first described this neuralgic disorder in 1906. It occurs in about 2 % of stroke patients.

Posterolateral thalamic lesions, such as infarcts or haemorrhage, associated with contralateral pain. It is at first characterized by hemianaesthesia, which is followed by a gradual return of sensory function and, in turn, by pain. In some cases, there may be spontaneous recovery and the pain ceases, but, more commonly, it continues with little sensory loss, involving mostly the face or arm.

Bibliography

  • J. J. Dejerine, G. Roussy:
    Le syndrome thalamique.
    Revue neurologique, Paris, 1906, 14: 521-532.
  • G. Roussy:
    La couche optique et le syndrome thalamique. Paris, 1907.

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