Sensorimotor performance in afferent paresis in chronic stroke patient: case report

Abstract

Introduction: Lesions on the postcentral gyrus may cause the phenomenon denominated afferent paresis. Objective: To describe sensorimotor performance of a patient with afferent paresis after chronic stroke. Methods: Female patient, 39 years with a diagnosis of acute subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by rupture of an aneurysm in the right middle cerebral artery underwent physiotherapy assessment. She was subjected to the Fugl-Meyer assessment, Nottingham sensory assessment, the bells test, the motor sequences and ten functional tests, the last two were performed with and without visual deprivation. Results: The patient had mild motor dysfunction, tactile hypoesthesia and absence of proprioception in the wrist and hand, astereognosis and difficulty in resolving motor tasks during visual deprivation. Conclusion: The chronic post-stroke patient exhibited significant sensory deficits in the contralesional upper extremity and slowness or inability to perform motor tasks only in the absence of visual guidance, thus characterizing the afferent paresis.