A Rare Case of Hyperglycemic-Hemichorea in a Young Patient

Meraj Fatima; Mohsin Iqbal; Saira Abbas; Deepak Kumar; Fnu Jitidhar

doi:10.7759/cureus.8483

A Rare Case of Hyperglycemic-Hemichorea in a Young Patient

Cureus. 2020 Jun 7;12(6):e8483. doi: 10.7759/cureus.8483.

Authors

Meraj Fatima¹, Mohsin Iqbal^{2

3}, Saira Abbas⁴, Deepak Kumar⁵, Fnu Jitidhar⁶

Affiliations

¹ Neurology, Dow International Medical College, Dow University Hospital, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, PAK.
² Internal Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, PAK.
³ Internal Medicine, Dow University Hospital, Karachi, PAK.
⁴ Neurology, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, PAK.
⁵ Internal Medicine: Nephrology, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi, PAK.
⁶ Internal Medicine, Dow Medical College/ Civil Hospital, Karachi, PAK.

Abstract

Chorea is an abnormal, nonrhythmic, and purposeless movement of limbs. There is a long list of diseases responsible for chorea; long-standing hyperglycemia can sometimes result in it, which typically manifests on one side of the body. MRI brain is an added diagnostic tool, which commonly shows hyperintense basal ganglia lesion on T1-weighted images. Chorea in the context of hyperglycemia is a reversible and infrequent occurrence, best managed with insulin and haloperidol combination therapy. Here, we discuss a patient with hyperglycemic-hemichorea, whose symptoms resolved completely within two months of taking insulin and haloperidol.

Keywords: chorea; chorea hyperglycemia basal ganglia syndrome; hyperglycemic hemichorea.

Publication types

Case Reports