title: [Acquired and developmental Gerstmann syndrome. Illustration from a patient with multiple sclerosis].
abstract: Gerstmann's syndrome (GS) is defined by a clinical tetrad including acalculia, finger anomia, left-right disorientation and agraphia. In this article, we describe the case of a 42-year-old woman suffering from an aggressive relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in which a systematic neuropsychological assessment revealed Gertsmann's syndrome amongst other cognitive disturbances. Brain MRI showed a high concentration of plaques within a left subcortical parietal region that has recently been considered as a crucial node for GS appearance. However, history, taking provided information suggesting that an important part of the GS, may have been present since childhood, evoking a possible neurodevelopmental origin in this patient. This article reviews the role of the GS concept in contemporary literature, with a special attention to pathophysiological hypotheses and to precautions necessary to study such cases.
authors.affiliation: Service de neurologie, CHU de Reims, 45 rue Cognacq-Jay, Reims cedex, France. nehrle@chu-reims.fr
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ehrlé
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maarouf
authors.forename: M-P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Chaunu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sabbagh-Peignot
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bakchine
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005862:Gerstmann Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests