Parkinsonism and basal ganglia infarcts.

A subacute parkinsonian syndrome was seen in three patients with CT evidence of basal ganglia infarcts. The clinical picture improved spontaneously, making the diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease untenable, and other causes of parkinsonism were not detected. This extrapyramidal syndrome was therefore compatible with "vascular parkinsonism," even though it lacked features often ascribed to this syndrome, such as a history of previous strokes and the presence of dementia and corticospinal tract signs.