Edouard Brissaud

Biographical Timeline

• Born 1852 à Besançon (Doubs)
• Died 1909 à Paris

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Medical Eponyms

Brissaud–Sicard syndrome (1908)

A crossed pontine syndrome characterised by ipsilateral facial spasm (hemifacial spasm/cramps) with contralateral hemiparesis, due to a lesion involving the pons (classically the basilar/anterolateral pons affecting corticospinal pathways with irritation of facial nerve fibres/nucleus).

Clinical features

• Ipsilateral tonic/clonic facial contractions (hemifacial spasm)
• Contralateral pyramidal weakness (hemiparesis) ± other long-tract signs
• Localises to the pons

1856 – Adolphe-Marie Gubler (1821–1879) described the crossed pontine pattern (often cited as the earliest description).

1908 – Brissaud and Jean-Athanase Sicard (1872-1929) published a detailed clinical series (three cases), attributing the syndrome to pontine pyramidal tract involvement with facial nerve irritation (reported in the context of syphilis-related cerebrovascular disease).

NOTE: Not to be confused with Millard–Gubler syndrome:

• Brissaud–Sicard describes ipsilateral hemifacial spasm with contralateral hemiparesis, implying irritation of facial pathways plus corticospinal involvement in the pons.
• Millard–Gubler is the “loss” syndrome, facial palsy rather than spasm, paired with contralateral hemiplegia.

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Key Medical Contributions

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Major Publications

• Bourneville D, Brissaud É. Encéphalite ou sclérose tubéreuse des circonvolutions cérébrales. Archives de neurologie, Paris, 1881 ; 1 : 390-412
• Brissaud E. Leçons sur les maladies nerveuses: La Salpêtriére, (1893-1894). 1895
• Brissaud E. Le réflexe du fascia lata. Gaz Hebdo Med Chirurg. 1896;43:253-6
• Brissaud E. La chorée variable de dégénérés Revue neurologique (Paris), 1896; 4: 417-431
• Brissaud E. Leçons sur les maladies nerveuses : deuxième série (Hôpital Saint-Antoine). 1899
• Brissaud E, Sicard J-A. : « Type spécial de syndrome alterne ». Revue Neurologique, Paris, 1908 ; 16 : 86
• Brissaud E, Sicard J-A. L’hémispasme facial alterné. Presse médicale (Paris), 1908; 16: 234-236

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References

Biography

• Presse médicale. 1909. pp. 1001-3
• Progrès médical. 1899. X. pp. 27-8 
• Poirier J. Edouard Brissaud, neurologue méconnu et comédien dans l’ame [Edouard Brissaud, a neglected neurologist and an artist at heart]. Bull Acad Natl Med. 2010 Jan;194(1):163-75.
• Poirier J, Ricou P. Edouard Brissaud (1852-1909), élève préféré de Charcot [Edouard Brissaud (1852-1909), Charcot’s favorite pupil]. Hist Sci Med. 2010 Jul-Sep;44(3):247-55. 
• Poirier J. Édouard Brissaud (1852-1909). J Neurol. 2011 May;258(5):951-2.
• Marques PT, Germiniani FMB, Camargo CHF, Munhoz RP, Teive HAG. Édouard Brissaud: distinguished neurologist and Charcot’s pupil. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2018 Jul;76(7):490-493. 

Eponymous terms

• Gubler A-M. De l’hémiplégie alterne envisagée comme signe de lésion de la protubérance annulaire et comme preuve de la décussation des nerfs faciaux. Gazette hebdomadaire de médecine et de chirurgie. 1856; 3: 749-754, 789-792, 811-816. 
• Tacik P, Krasnianski M, Alfieri A, Dressler D. Brissaud-Sicard syndrome caused by a diffuse brainstem glioma. A rare differential diagnosis of hemifacial spasm. Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2014 Feb;156(2):429-30.