Hemiplegia

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1];Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Naresh Mullaguri, M.B.B.S. [2]

Overview

Hemiplegia is a condition where there is paralysis in one vertical half of a patient's body. This is not hemiparesis wherein one half of the body is weakened, i.e. one arm and its corresponding leg are weak. Hemiplegia is similar to hemiparesis, but hemiparesis is considered less severe.

Causes

It can be congenital (occurring before, during, or soon after birth) or acquired (as from illness or stroke).

It is usually the result of a stroke, although disease processes affecting the spinal cord and other diseases affecting the hemispheres are equally capable of producing this clinical state. Hemiplegia can be a more serious consequence of stroke than spasticity.

Cerebral palsy can also affect one hemisphere, resulting in limited function. This does not cause paralysis but instead causes spasms. Cerebral palsy where this is the only symptom is often referred just as hemiplegia.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus can lead to transient hemiplegia.

A rare cause of hemiplegia is due to local anaesthetic injections given intra-arterially rapidly, instead of given in a nerve branch.

Common Causes

• Stroke

• Intracranial hemorrhage

• Encephalitis

• Cerebral abscess

• Cerebral palsy

• Cerebral trauma

• Neoplasm

• Cerebral agenesis

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	No underlying causes
Chemical / poisoning	No underlying causes
Dermatologic	No underlying causes
Drug Side Effect	No underlying causes
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	No underlying causes
Environmental	No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic	No underlying causes
Genetic	Apolipoprotein A1 deficiency
Hematologic	Bone marrow failure neurologic abnormalities, Hyper IgE syndrome (autosomal recessive)
Iatrogenic	No underlying causes
Infectious Disease	Cerebral abscess, Cerebellar abscess, Cortical thrombophlebitis, Encephalitis, Hydatid cyst, Infective endocarditis, Meningitis, Paragonimiasis, Rasmussen subacute encephalitis, Toxoplasmosis
Musculoskeletal / Ortho	No underlying causes
Neurologic	Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, Acute infantile hemiplegia, Alternating hemiplegia, Benedikt's syndrome, Brushfield-Wyatt syndrome, Cerebellar abscess, Cerebral abscess, Cerebral agenesis, Cerebral angioma, Cerebral contusion, Cerebral embolism, Cerebral hemorrhage, Cerebral palsy, Cerebral thrombosis, Cortical thrombophlebitis, Encephalitis, Epiloia, Extradural hemorrhage, Head injury, Hypertensive encephalopathy, Meningitis, Millard-Gubler syndrome, Motor neuron disease, Multiple sclerosis, Pick's disease, Porencephaly, Primary neoplasm, Rasmussen subacute encephalitis, Raymond-Foville syndrome, Schilder's disease, Secondary neoplasm, Sphenopalatine ganglion stimulation, Stroke, Sturge-Weber syndrome, Subarachnoid hemorrhage, Subdural haematoma, Toxoplasmosis, Traumatic cerebral hemorrhage, Weber's syndrome
Nutritional / Metabolic	No underlying causes
Obstetric/Gynecologic	No underlying causes
Oncologic	Cerebral angioma, Primary neoplasm, Secondary neoplasm
Opthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose / Toxicity	No underlying causes
Psychiatric	Hysteria
Pulmonary	No underlying causes
Renal / Electrolyte	No underlying causes
Rheum / Immune / Allergy	No underlying causes
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	Traumatic cerebral hemorrhage
Urologic	No underlying causes
Dental	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	Klippel Feil Syndrome, Birth injury

Causes in Alphabetical Order

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis Acute infantile hemiplegia Alternating hemiplegia Apolipoprotein A1 deficiency Benedikt's syndrome Birth injury Bone marrow failure neurologic abnormalities Brain injury Brushfield-Wyatt syndrome Cerebellar abscess Cerebral abscess Cerebral agenesis Cerebral angioma Cerebral contusion Cerebral embolism Cerebral hemorrhage Cerebral palsy Cerebral thrombosis Cortical thrombophlebitis Encephalitis Epiloia Extradural hematoma Head injury Hemorrhage Hydatid cyst Hyper IgE syndrome, autosomal recessive

Hypertensive encephalopathy Hysteria Infective endocarditis Internal carotid agenesis Klippel-Feil Syndrome Meningitis Millard-Gubler syndrome Motor neuron disease Multiple sclerosis Paragonimiasis Pick's disease Porencephaly Primary neoplasm Rasmussen subacute encephalitis Raymond-Foville syndrome Schilder's disease Secondary neoplasm Sphenopalatine ganglion stimulation Stroke Sturge-Weber syndrome Subarachnoid hemorrhage Subdural hemorrhage Toxoplasmosis Traumatic cerebral hemorrhage Weber's syndrome

Hemiplegic migraine

Hemiplegic migraine is a form of migraine during which the person will experience the feeling of numbness on one side of their body. This feeling will usually pass within 2-12 hour.

See also

• Alternating hemiplegia

External links

• CHASA Children's Hemiplegia and Stroke Association non-profit organization
• HemiHelp, a UK based childhood hemiplegia (cerebral palsy) charity
• AHC Kids Dutch website about Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood
• Spinal Cord Injury Peer Support