What You Need to Know About Thalamic Stroke - Oren Zarif - Thalamic Stroke

There are several types of thalamic stroke. The damage can begin with impaired sensation and then progress to severe chronic pain and thermal dysregulation. Depending on the severity of the stroke, recovery revolves around compensating for the damaged abilities. The good news is that not all secondary effects can be completely overcome. This makes rehabilitation an important part of the recovery process. Besides, integration of rehab skills into everyday life may enhance recovery. Read on for more information on thalamic stroke.

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There are 5 main functional classes in the thalamic lobe: the reticular and intralaminar nuclei serve the arousal and nociception functions. The effector nuclei are involved in motor functions and aspects of language. The limbic nuclei deal with mood and motivation. A vascular lesions can affect any one of these groups of nuclei, producing a variety of clinical presentations. Tuberothalamic territory strokes cause impairments in arousal and orientation. The patients often show superimposition of temporally unrelated information.

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Although rare, a thalamic stroke can cause speech and communication problems. Another complication of a thalamic stroke is hemispatial neglect. Patients with a hemispatial infarct might have been mistaken for cases of aphasia. Primary care providers may have misinterpreted patients with subtle neurocognitive deficits. Similarly, right-sided ITS patients may not have presented to the healthcare system.

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There are three main types of thalamic stroke: thalamic infarction, polar artery territory infarction, and periventricular infarction. Thalamic strokes are relatively rare, but they can be devastating if not treated correctly. The best way to treat a thalamic infarct is to diagnose it early and begin rehabilitation as soon as possible. There are no known medications to treat a thalamic infarction, but proper diagnosis and treatment are vital.

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Left-sided thalamic stroke patients are more likely to be admitted to the hospital than right-sided thalamic stroke patients. These patients have greater rates of ITS lesions and anteromedian thalamic vascular territories than right-sided stroke patients. The structure-function relationships between the thalamus and other brain regions are asymmetric. Similarly, left-sided lesions tend to have more neuropsychological symptoms than right-sided lesions.

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To assess the prevalence of thalamic stroke, researchers conducted a population-based MRI study. MRI provides accurate information about the location of lesions in the brain. Neuropsychological testing of patients may be critical as neuropsychological deficits are often overlooked during the initial stages of stroke recovery. And while the study did not include systematic neuropsychological assessment, the study provides an excellent basis for a diagnosis of thalamic stroke.

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A subgroup of thalamic stroke patients may be underdiagnosed in the prehospital setting, because the symptoms are less recognizable and therefore may not receive appropriate treatment in time. The aim of the study was to describe clinical symptoms of isolated thalamic stroke patients and evaluate left-right lateralization patterns to identify patients who are potentially missed. These findings could improve the care of patients and increase the number of thalamic stroke victims.