Isolated reading difficulties in stroke

Pure alexia is a rare neuropsychological condition in which a structural lesion in the occipital lobe renders the patient unable to read without affecting writing or the sensorimotor function. We present two cases in which alexia was the sole symptom of stroke: a 72-year-old previously healthy female and an 80-year-old male with diabetes, ischaemic heart disease and renal insufficiency. Each patient presented with difficulty reading without coinciding with aphasia or sensorimotor deficits. In both cases, MRI scans revealed lesions in the left occipital lobe and adjoining structures.