Dystonia and tremor secondary to thalamic infarction successfully treated with thalamotomy of the ventralis intermedius nucleus

Abstract

Background: Focal thalamic lesions have been associated with a variety of involuntary movements such as tremor, dystonia, and chorea-ballism.

Methods: We describe a patient with severe hyperkinesias of the right arm secondary to a thalamic infarction in the left postero-ventral region of the thalamus.

Results: The dystonia and tremor of the right upper limb were subsequently controlled with another surgical lesion of the ventralis intermedius nucleus of the thalamus.

Conclusion: This observation suggests that ablative surgery might be applied to treat a movement disorder induced by the lesion of the same nucleus, which in addition lead to interesting pathophysiological conjectures.

Keywords: VIM; dystonia; thalamic infarction; thalamotomy; tremor.