“Accent issue”: foreign accent syndrome following ischemic stroke

Background: Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is arare syndrome associated with altered speech rhythm and prosody, which listeners perceive as foreign; cerebrovascular accidents, tumors and multiple sclerosis are reported as possible causes of FAS. The pathophysiology of FAS is not yet understood. Case presentation: A 68-year-old Italian man was admitted to the EmergencyDepartment for non-fluent aphasia and dysarthria. Computed tomography (CT) scan did not show abnormalities; the patient was treated with systemic thrombolysis. A repeated brain CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed an infarct in the left primary motor cortex and mild extension to cortico-subcortical frontal regions. …