Alien hand syndrome: a report of 2 cases and review of the literature

Objective: To study the etiology,clinical type and neural anatomy of alien hand syndrome (AHS).Methods: Two cases of alien hand syndrome were analyzed combined with review retrospectively.Results: Both of the 2 patients had the alieness of the affected extremity,motor preservation,autocriticism,the mirror movement and other symptoms.CT and MRI showed lesions mainly involving the corpus callosum.Symptoms of the two cases were improved after symptomatic treatment.Conclusions: Alien hand syndrome has complex causes,diverse symptoms.A common clinical classification includes the frontal lobe form,corpus callosum form and posterior form.Lesions involved the medial frontal cortex,corpus callosum,parietal lobe,thalamus,etc.The patients with AHS should be given active imaging examination,specific analysis of its causes,and timely treatment to prevent misdiagnosis and delayed treatment.