Foix–Chavany–Marie syndrome

Foix–Chavany–Marie syndrome, also known as bilateral anterior opercular syndrome, is a partial paralysis of the face, pharynx and jaw caused by bilateral damage to a specific region of the brain, the operculum. It was described in 1926 by Charles Foix, Jean Alfred Émile Chavany and Julien Marie in the Revue Neurologique[1] and hence, named after them.[2] As a characteristic, there is no paralysis of upper or lower limbs and those affected can still make involuntary movement like smiling, eating or blinking eyes.

Symptoms

Symptoms are anarthria, drooling, trouble talking, jaw jerks and general weakness in the face.

Causes

The most common cause is stroke, infection of the brain, malformation, degenerative disorder and head trauma.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis is made with CT scan and MRI. Most of the time the lesion is seen on both side of the brain, in the operculum. This part of the brain contains Broca's area, which plays an important role in conversation or speech production, reading and writing.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Foix, Charles; Jean Alfred Émile Chavany and Julien Marie (1926). "Diplégie facio-linguo-masticatrice d'origine sous-corticale sans paralysie des membres (contribution à l'étude de la localisation des centres de la face du membre supérieur)". Revue neurologique 33: 214–219.
  2. ↑ http://www.whonamedit.com/synd.cfm/1527.html

References