Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Oct 6, 2020; 8(19): 4494-4498
Published online Oct 6, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i19.4494
Acute amnesia during pregnancy due to bilateral fornix infarction: A case report
Min Jai Cho, Dong-Ick Shin, Moon-Ku Han, Kyu Sun Yum
Min Jai Cho, Department of Neurosurgery, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju-si 28644, South Korea
Dong-Ick Shin, Kyu Sun Yum, Department of Neurology, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju-si 28644, South Korea
Moon-Ku Han, Department of Neurology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam-si 463-707, South Korea
Author contributions: Yum KS was the patient’s neurologist; Yum KS and Cho MJ reviewed the literature and contributed to manuscript drafting; Shin DI and Han MK were responsible for the revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content; all authors issued final approval of the version to be submitted.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Kyu Sun Yum, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Chungbuk National University Hospital, 776, 1 Sunhwan-ro, Seowon-gu, Cheongju-si 28644, Korea. alcest@gmail.com
Received: June 25, 2020
Peer-review started: June 25, 2020
First decision: August 8, 2020
Revised: August 12, 2020
Accepted: September 4, 2020
Article in press: September 4, 2020
Published online: October 6, 2020
Processing time: 94 Days and 22.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Stroke is an important cause of maternal morbidity and mortality during pregnancy and puerperium. Isolated amnesia is a rare clinical symptom caused by ischemic stroke during pregnancy. We present the first documented case of acute amnesia during pregnancy due to bilateral fornix infarction.

CASE SUMMARY

A 32-year-old nullipara presented at 35 wk of gestation with acute amnesia and headache. Brain magnetic resonance imaging and angiography revealed acute infarction in the bilateral anterior fornix. There was no evidence of causative abnormality after extensive work-up, including for vascular abnormality, cardiac disease, coagulopathy, and pregnancy-related conditions. The patient was diagnosed with cryptogenic stroke. Aspirin was administered immediately, and the patient recovered fully without recurrence.

CONCLUSION

Acute isolated amnesia due to stroke is rare during pregnancy. Early diagnosis of stroke and immediate treatment prevent neurologic sequelae.

Keywords: Fornix; Brain; Amnesia; Cerebral infarction; Pregnancy; Stroke; Case report

Core Tip: Pregnancy-related cerebrovascular disorder is one of the major causes of maternal mortality. Arterial ischemic infarction is a less common complication, however, more critical and disabling. Isolated amnesia is a rare clinical symptom caused by ischemic stroke in pregnancy. We present a rare case of acute amnesia due to bilateral fornix infarction in healthy young nullipara. Extensive work up for stroke revealed no causative abnormality. The patient was diagnosed as cryptogenic stroke. This case highlights the early diagnosis and treatment for stroke in pregnancy with acute amnesia without another neurologic deficit.