Contralateral disappearance of parkinsonian signs after subthalamic hematoma

Abstract

A man with Parkinson's disease (PD) suddenly developed a left hemiballismus, and the CT showed a hematoma of the right subthalamic nucleus. After the ballistic movements had disappeared, akinesia and the other parkinsonian signs did not reappear on the left. This clinical case confirms the involvement of the subthalamic nucleus in the akinesia of PD, as suggested by recent experimental data.