Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2013 Sep 6:2013:bcr2013010229.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2013-010229.

Uncontrolled hyperglycaemia: a reversible cause of hemichorea-hemiballismus

Nikhil M Bhagwat  1 , Ameya S Joshi, Gururaja Rao, Premlata K Varthakavi
Affiliations
Case Reports

Uncontrolled hyperglycaemia: a reversible cause of hemichorea-hemiballismus

Nikhil M Bhagwat et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

Hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state (HHS) an acute complication of diabetes mellitus, can be associated with neurological involvement ranging from seizures, involuntary movements to reversible focal neurological deficits without any structural lesions. We report a 71-year-old woman, a known case of type 2 diabetes mellitus who presented with the sudden onset of hemichorea-hemiballismus. On investigations she had hyperglycaemia and urinary tract infection. Achievement of euglycemia with insulin therapy resolved the involuntary movements completely. This highlights the fact that HHS is an uncommon but easily treatable cause of recent onset unilateral hemichorea-hemiballismus.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Bedwell SF. Some observations on Hemiballismus. Neurology 1960;2013:619–22 - PubMed
    1. Oh SH, Lee KY, Im JH, et al. Chorea associated with non-ketotic hyperglycemia and hyperintensity basal ganglia lesion on T1-weighted brain MRI study: a meta-analysis of 53 cases including four present cases. J Neu rol Sci 2002;2013:57–62 - PubMed
    1. Lee BC, Hwang SH, Chang GY. Hemiballismus-hemichorea in older diabetic women: a clinical syndrome with MRI correlation. Neurology 1999;2013:646–8 - PubMed
    1. Lai PH, Tien RD, Chang MH, et al. Chorea-ballismus with nonketotic hyperglycemia in primary diabetes mellitus. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 1996;2013:1057–64 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hashimoto K, Ito Y, Tanahashi H, et al. Hyperglycemia Chorea-Ballism or acute exacerbation of Huntington's chorea? Huntington's disease unmasked by diabetic ketoacidosis in type 1 diabetes mellitus. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2012;2013:3016–3020 - PubMed

Publication types