Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

Brief Clinical Note

Bilateral gustatory disturbance associated with left putaminal hemorrhage

Hisashi Ito, M.D.1), Hidefumi Ito, M.D.1), Nobuko Tanaka, M.D.1), Shinya Asayama, M.D.1)2), Satoshi Nakano, M.D.1) and Hirofumi Kusaka, M.D.1)

1)Department of Neurology, Kansai Medical University
2)Department of Neurology, Kitano Hospital

We reported a 39-year-old, left-handed man with sudden onset hypogeusia. Taste threshold examined by a filter-paper disc method was elevated remarkably on both sides of the tongue. Additionally, the patient showed mild right central facial nerve palsy and mild weakness in the right upper limb. Brain CT showed left putaminal hemorrhage. Brain MRI demonstrated a hemorrhage in the left putamen and edema affecting the insular cortex.
In this case, the gustatory information from both sides of the tongue, regardless of whether the nerves cross in a brainstem, is suggested to project to the left insular cortex before ascending to the higher order taste and language areas.

(CLINICA NEUROL, 46: 288|290, 2006)
key words: gustatory disturbance, putamen, insular cortex, cerebrovascular disorder

(Received: 21-Jul-05)