Strange hand syndrome

Strange hand syndrome, alien hand syndrome (SMA) or Dr. Strangelove syndrome is a rare neurological disorder frequent that is characterized by the presence of involuntary and uncontrollable movements in one of the upper limbs, in addition to a sensation of "personification" or at least of strangeness in relation to it.

First described in 1908 by German physician Kurt Goldstein, the syndrome is common in patients who have undergone a commissurotomy. It can also occur after neurosurgery, in people with stroke, infections, neoplasms, aneurysms, or in patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Creutzfeldt-Jkob.

Symptoms of strange hand

A patient with strange hand syndrome can feel touch in his hand, but believes it is not part of his body and that he has no control over its movements. Unusual hands can perform complicated acts such as buttoning and unbuttoning a shirt. Often the patient is not aware of what his hand is doing until his attention is drawn to it.

Patients of odd hand syndrome often personify the independent limb, for example, believing that they are "possessed" by some spirit and may fight or punish it in an attempt to control it.

Involuntary movements (apparently intentional) of the affected hand can come into conflict with the opposite limb and can sometimes include inappropriate use of an object; the foreign member may try to cause some harm to himself or others.

The movements of the foreign member, which can sometimes be controlled, are increased in situations of fatigue or anxiety, as well as in situations in which the subject pays less attention.

Causes

There are several subtypes of strange hand syndrome associated with specific types of brain damage. Damage to the corpus callosum can cause involuntary and intelligent actions in the patient's non-dominant hand (for example, in the case of a right-handed person, their left hand will appear to take on a life of its own), while damage to the frontal lobe can cause actions involuntary and intelligent in the dominant hand.

Damage to the cerebral cortex can cause involuntary, albeit uncontrolled, movements of any of the patient's hands and more complex movements of the foreign hand are generally associated with brain tumors, aneurysms or blows.

Weird hand syndrome is thought to result from disconnection between the different parts of the brain with control over the body. As a result, different regions of the brain are able to control body movements without being aware of what the other parts of the brain are doing.

Treatment

There is currently no known treatment for strange hand syndrome, although the symptoms can be reduced by engaging the strange hand with some task, for example holding an object with it.

Rehabilitation treatment must address the specific needs of each patient, in order to achieve an improvement in the performance of activities of daily living.

Since the symptoms are accentuated by the existence of nearby objects considered striking, it is important that the people who live with these patients try to keep the environment free of distracting stimuli, while at the same time it is convenient for the patient to focus on performing a single task. In this way, it would be possible to improve the quality of life of patients.

In the media

In an episode of the program Chespirito by Roberto Gómez Bolaños, the character "Chómpiras" loses control of his hand.

In the film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, in one scene, the hand of the character Dr. Strangelove played by Peter Sellers seems to take on a life of its own, even giving the Nazi salute.

In the movie To hell with the devil, the character played by Brendan Fraser, in one scene loses control of his hand, apparently controlled by the Devil. The scene is based on this disease.

In Jim Carrey's comedy Liar Liar, his character, Fletcher Reede, briefly "faces off" with his right hand, which seems to have taken on a life of its own.

Also in Sam Raimi's horror film The Evil Dead, the character, Ash, fights against his own hand as if possessed by a demonic spirit.

On the American series Dr. House (season 5, episode 24).

In the video game Zero Time Dilemma from the Zero Escape game series.