Pure Motor Hemiplegia of Vascular Origin

Abstract

FOR PRESENT purposes a pure motor hemiplegia is defined as a paralysis complete or incomplete of the face, arm, and leg on one side unaccompanied by sensory signs, visual field defect, dysphasia, or apractagnosia. In the case of brain stem lesions the hemiplegia will be free of vertigo, deafness, tinnitus, diplopia, cerebellar ataxia, and gross nystagmus. This definition particularly applies to the acute phase of the vascular insult and does not include less recent strokes in which other signs were present to begin with, but faded with the passage of time. At the Massachusetts General Hospital in the past few years, 50 cases have been studied clinically, in nine of which the brain was later examined pathologically. In the present report our observations in these cases will be analyzed. Recognition of the syndrome of pure motor hemiplegia and its pathological correlates has proved helpful in the classification, differentiation, and