Transient compulsive hyperphagia in a patient with a thalamic infarct
- P Cerrato1,
- M Grasso1,
- C Azzaro1,
- C Baima1,
- M Giraudo1,
- A Rizzuto1,
- A Lentini1,
- P Perozzo1,
- B Bergamasco1,
- G Sorrentino2
- 1First Division of Neurology, Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy
- 2University “Parthenope” of Naples, Naples, Italy
- Correspondence to: Dr Paolo Cerrato paolo_cerratoyahoo.com
Eating disorders are associated with various psychiatric and neurological diseases. Pathological eating behaviour ranges from reduced to excessive appetite, dysregulation of hunger and satiation signals, and odd food preferences. Hyperphagia and anorexia are reported in lesions (mostly tumours) involving the ventromedial hypothalamus.1 Moreover, eating disorders also occur in temporal lobe tumours, temporal lobe epilepsy, and advanced states of degenerative disease with neuronal loss in the medial temporal lobe. Hyperorality is part of the Kluver-Bucy syndrome which occurs in patients with bilateral mesial temporal lesions.1
We report a patient in whom compulsive hyperphagia was associated with a medial thalamic ischaemic stroke.
CASE REPORT
A 52 year old man complained of diplopia, dizziness, vertigo, decrease of consciousness, memory impairment, and hyperphagia. These symptoms occurred abruptly while he was painting the gate in his garden.
The diplopia and vertigo disappeared in about 15 minutes, while hyperphagia and memory impairment lasted for about 24 hours and completely disappeared the following day on awakening. Instead, amnesia concerning the event is still present.
The decrease of consciousness consisted of slight hypersomnolence (the patient could easily be awakened by auditory and verbal stimulation) and was present only at the onset, while memory impairment was noted only later. The patient’s wife reported that he …
