Abstract

The present case is an example of the useless hand syndrome of Oppenheim secondary to a high cervical astrocytoma. The suspended proprioceptive and discriminative sensory loss with conservation of thermoalgesia and crude touch in both upper extremities is secondary to damage to dorsal root entry and cuneate nucleus. The clumsiness and difficulties in precise grasping with the hand are due to damage of the propriospinal nucleus in the dorsal horns at C3-C4 level. This nucleus integrates descending excitatory influences from corticospinal tract and inhibitory interneurons controlled by descending systems and the forelimb afferents. Probably the loss of the inhibitory proprioceptive cervical afferents is the culprit of the difficulties in grasping by the hands.