[Klüver-Bucy-like syndrome and frontal symptoms following cerebrovascular disease].
We present a case with frontal lobe symptoms and Klüver-Bucy-like syndrome following subarachnoid hemorrhage and hydrocephaly. Klüver-Bucy syndrome is a rare neurobehavioral condition characterized by placidity, visual agnosia, hypersexuality, hyperorality, and hypermetamorphosis (the tendency to react to or to touch every visual stimulus). The syndrome is usually associated with lesions of the amygdala or its pathways, and it occurs after head trauma, anoxia-ischemic encephalopathy, herpes simplex encephalitis, and Reye 's syndrome. A 45-year-old right-handed female patient, who developed hydrocephaly after meningitis due to bilateral middle cerebral artery aneurysm surgery presented to our psychiatry clinic with various behavioral and emotional changes. In her psychiatric examination, increased and disinhibited speech, perseveration, placidity, impaired go/no go task performance, and hyperphagia were observed. The patient was treated with risperidone 0.5 mg/day. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed encephalomalacic-gliotic changes in the anterior superior medial temporal lobe (including bilateral amygdala), hydrocephalus, bilateral abnormal signal intensity in the white matter of the frontal region, and bilateral infarction in the centrum semiovale. Symptoms, such as placidity (loss of anger and fear) and altered dietary habits are some of the clinical features of Klüver-Bucy syndrome, whereas disinhibition and perseveration are associated with prefrontal cortex dysfunction.
Ozdemir
Hatice
H
Uzm. Psk., Hacettepe U Tip Fak., Oğrenci Sağlik Merkezi, Ankara. haticoezdemir@yahoo.de
Rezaki
Murat
M
D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000150:complications*; D020232:Kluver-Bucy Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications*