A 64-year old man presenting with carotid artery occlusion and corticobasal syndrome: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in patients with corticobasal degeneration typically shows focal or asymmetric atrophy, usually maximal in the frontoparietal cortex. Many patients who are diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration using current diagnostic criteria do not have classical corticobasal degeneration pathology. Our case is remarkable for the fact that the symptoms and the characteristic magnetic resonance imaging appearance were typical for corticobasal degeneration. However, we were quite convinced that the clinical picture had a vascular etiology. Only a few cases have been reported where the presumed cause for the corticobasal syndrome was multiple brain infarctions bilaterally. CASE PRESENTATION: A 64-year-old Caucasian man visited a neurologist because of profound asymmetric sensory and motor disturbances. A magnetic resonance imaging scan of his brain revealed occlusion of his internal carotid artery on the left side with multiple vascular lesions in his left hemisphere and notable atrophy of mainly the left parietal and frontal cortex. CONCLUSION: We describe a patient with corticobasal syndrome caused by multiple infarctions, probably caused by emboli of the carotid stenosis. This patient illustrates the fact that the word 'syndrome' should be preferred above 'degeneration' in the name of this disease.