Stroke Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Stroke, including details on treatment, recovery, rehabilitation, signs, symptoms.

Haemorrhagic pure motor stroke.

Arboix A, García-Eroles L, Massons J, Oliveres M, Balcells M

Cerebrovascular Division, Department of Neurology, Hospital Universitari del Sagrat Cor, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. aarboix@hscor.com

To describe the clinical characteristics of haemorrhagic pure motor stroke (PMS). Twelve patients with haemorrhagic PMS were identified. Haemorrhagic PMS accounted for 3.2% of all cases of pure motor hemiparesis (n = 380) and 3.3% of intracerebral haemorrhage (n = 364) entered in the database. When compared with PMS of ischaemic origin, patients with haemorrhagic PMS were more likely to be younger (62.2 vs. 75.2 years, P = 0.003) and to have headache (33% vs. 6.3%, P =0.007) and thalamus involvement (25% vs. 2.4%, P = 0.005). Limb weakness (100% vs. 74.1%; P = 0.03), involvement of the internal capsule (50% vs. 17.3%, P = 0.012) and symptom free at discharge (25% vs. 3.7%, P = 0.012) were significantly more frequent in patients with haemorrhagic PMS than in the remaining cases of haemorrhagic stroke, whereas nausea and vomiting (0% vs. 25.9%, P = 0.03), altered consciousness (0% vs. 42.9%, P = 0.001), sensory symptoms (8.3% vs. 46.9%, P =0.007) and ventricular haemorrhage (0% vs. 26.1%, P = 0.028) were significantly less frequent. Haemorrhagic PMS is a very infrequent stroke subtype. Headache at stroke onset may be useful sign for distinguishing haemorrhagic PMS from other causes of lacunar stroke. There are important differences between haemorrhagic PMS and the remaining intracerebral haemorrhages.

Published 25 January 2007 in Eur J Neurol, 14(2): 219-23.
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