Bilaterally impaired hand dexterity with posterior cortical atrophy

A 79-year- old man presented with bilaterally impaired hand movements pertaining to handling of objects although hand movements without the use of objects were preserved, findings consistent with tactile apraxia. His hand and finger movements were slow and clumsy. He had an isolated optic ataxia, a component of Balint's syndrome. The computed tomography scan showed enlargement of the posterior horns of the lateral ventricles. He had recurrent falls probably owing to visual attentional deficits, which may be present in patients with posterior cortical atrophy. The findings can be deemed to fall within the posterior cortical atrophy spectrum. The underlying mechanisms are discussed.