Foix-Chavany-Marie Syndrome: A Clinical Overview

Abstract

Foix-Chavany-Marie syndrome, which has been reported since the 19th century, is a cortical type of pseudobulbar palsy. Although previously most cases were due to acute recurrent stroke, recent reports have indicated that there are various causes, including infectious, developmental, epileptic and degenerative processes and various clinical courses, which may be transient or slowly progressive. Moreover, modern imaging techniques have revealed the significance of the injury of the white matter tract, such as the frontal aslant tract, rather than classical lesions of bilateral motor cortices. Considering both the findings of the bedside examination of patients with this "old" syndrome and of "new" imaging studies performed at appropriate times is expected to contribute to our understanding of the neural underpinnings of this syndrome.