A Case of Unilateral Hippocampal Infarction with Acute Memory Loss

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Memory impairment results from various neurologic disorders. Among them, the memory loss associated with stroke is called amnesic stroke. Involved regions in the amnesic stroke are medial temporal lobe, thalamus, basal forebrain, retrosplenial region, and subcortical regions. Unilateral amnesic stroke is posterior cerebral artery territory including thalamus. Isolated infarction of hippocampal region has been rarely reported because hippocampus has dual blood supply from anterior choroidal cerebral artery and posterior cerebral artery. CASE REPORT A 61-year old male with a history of diabetes for 6 years and hypertension for 13 years, was admitted with acute memory loss occurring 6 days before admission. He could not remember the exact date, place and recent events but could remember remote events about his personal and familial affairs. Brain MRI revealed an infarction in left hippocampal region and cerebral angiography showed multiple focal stenosis and luminal irregularity on left anterior choroidal, middle cerebral, basilar and both posterior cerebral arteries. COMMENTS: We report unilateral amnesic stroke only confined to left hippocampal region with literature review.