A case of acquired stuttering resulting from left parietal infarction.

OBJECTIVE

Acquired stuttering is uncommon, and is reported anecdotally after head injury and cerebrovascular diseases. Although this entity is described to occur in lesions of dominant hemisphere, it is rarely shown to occur in non-dominant hemispheric and subcortical lesions, too. Therefore we described a case with this rare syndrome and we discussed the possible mechanisms, lesion locations and medical treatment of stuttering according to previous reports.

METHODS

A 61-year-old right-handed man with sudden onset of right hemiparesia and stuttering without aphasia is reported. There was a circumscribed cortical infarction in the left parietal cortex on computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a recent infarct. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images evidenced perfusion abnormalities in the same region. He never stuttered before and has no family history of stuttering. He has been maintained on antiaggregant and paroxetine treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

A rare presentation of stroke associated with stuttering is reported and the treatment of stuttering with paroxetine is discussed.