Posterior Alien Hand Syndrome: Case Report and Rehabilitative Treatment

Abstract

Alien hand syndrome (AHS) is a rare syndrome characterized by involuntary, uncontrollable, and purposeless movement of one upper limb, which is considered as extraneous by the patient. The term AHS was previously used to describe a syndrome due to lesions in the anterior corpus callosum. Successively, some authors reported cases of AHS in patients due to posterior cerebral lesions, without lesions of the corpus callosum. Thus, it was possible to distinguish the posterior variant of AHS from the anterior form. The authors report an unusual case of posterior AHS due to a unique parieto-occipital lesion of the dominant hemisphere. However, the patient showed clinical findings that were similar to the anterior AHS. The rehabilitative treatment, individualized and targeted toward the specific needs of the patient, allowed the improvement of the patient’s participation in activities of daily living.