Foster Kennedy syndrome

Foster Kennedy syndrome refers to a constellation of findings associated with brain tumors involving the frontal lobe.^[1]

The syndrome was first extensively noted by Robert Foster Kennedy in 1911, a British neurologist, who spent most of his career working in the United States of America.^[2] However, the first mention of the syndrome came from a William Gowers in 1893. Schultz-Zehden described the symptoms again in 1905. A later description was written by Wilhelm Uhthoff in 1915.^[3]

Although “Foster Kennedy syndrome” is equated with “Kennedy syndrome”,^[4] it should not be confused with Kennedy disease, which is named for W. R. Kennedy.

Pseudo-Foster Kennedy syndrome is defined as one-sided optic atrophy with papilledema in the other eye but with the absence of a mass.^[5]

• Optic atrophy in the ipsilateral eye
• Papilledema in the contralateral eye
• Central scotoma (loss of vision in the middle of the visual fields) in the ipsilateral eye
• anosmia (loss of smell) ipsilaterally

This syndrome is due to optic nerve compression, olfactory nerve compression, and increased intracranial pressure (ICP) secondary to a mass (such as meningioma or plasmacytoma, usually an olfactory groove meningioma).^[6][7] There are other symptoms present in some cases such as nausea and vomiting, memory loss and emotional lability (i.e. frontal lobe signs).^[7]

The treatment, and therefore prognosis, varies depending upon the underlying tumour.^[7]

de:Foster Kennedy-Syndrom it:Sindrome di Foster-Kennedy