Verbal-Cue Rehabilitation Exercises Are Effective for the Mixed Callosal-Frontal Variant of Alien Hand Syndrome Following Stroke

Alien hand syndrome (AHS) is a rare condition in which a brain-injured patient develops involuntary movements, particularly in the upper limbs, along with difficulty in controlling them and a loss of ownership of the affected hand. AHS is traditionally classified into frontal, callosal, and occipital types. Recently, mixed types have also been reported. In this report, we describe a case of mixed callosal-frontal type AHS following stroke, in which symptoms improved with a verbal-cue rehabilitation exercise. The patient was a 62-year-old woman diagnosed with cerebral infarction in the right frontal lobe and corpus callosum due to disruption of the right anterior cerebral artery. She exhibited left hemiplegia, left deep tendon hyperreflexia, and AHS in the left upper extremity. She received verbal-cue rehabilitation exercises for AHS in addition to regular rehabilitation therapy and medications. After treatment, AHS persisted but was remarkably attenuated.