A case of posterior cortical atrophy with vertical neglect

ABSTRACT

Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a syndrome caused by a neurodegenerative disease that often presents with visuospatial deficits, and can be debilitating. PCA is often characterized by elements of Balint’s syndrome and dyslexia. The most common underlying pathology has been found to be Alzheimer’s disease. Signs of horizontal neglect are frequently associated with PCA, but the presence of vertical (or altitudinal) neglect has not yet been reported in a patient with PCA or other forms of neurodegenerative dementia. In this paper, we present a patient with PCA who on vertical line bisection and cancellation tests revealed upper altitudinal spatial neglect. Detection of this abnormality may have important implications for diagnosis, therapeutic interventions, and patient safety.

KEYWORDS:

• Vertical neglect
• posterior cortical atrophy
• Alzheimer’s disease
• neurodegenerative
• Balint’s syndrome

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Acknowledgments

None

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially supported by the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative, the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Aging 1Florida ADRC (Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center), and the Research Service of the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.