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Case Reports
. 2019 Nov 18;19(1):292.
doi: 10.1186/s12883-019-1519-8.

A case of dyskinesia after levetiracetam administration

Soo Hwan Yim  1 , Yun Ho Choi  1 , Kyoung Heo  1 , Kyoo Ho Cho  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

A case of dyskinesia after levetiracetam administration

Soo Hwan Yim et al. BMC Neurol. .

Abstract

Background: Antiepileptic drug (AED) induced dyskinesia is an unusual manifestation in the medical field. In the previous case reports describing first generation-AED related involuntary movements, the authors suggested that a plausible cause is pharmacokinetic interactions between two or more AEDs. To date, development of dyskinesia after levetiracetam (LEV) has not been reported.

Case presentation: A 28-year-old woman with a history of brain metastasis from spinal cord glioblastoma presented with several generalized tonic-clonic seizures without restored consciousness. LEV was administered intravenously. Thereafter no more clinical or electroencephalographic seizures were noted on video-EEG monitoring, while chorea movement was observed in her face and bilateral upper limbs.

Discussion and conclusions: To our knowledge, there is no case report of dyskinesia after administration of LEV. Considering the temporal relationship and absence of ictal video-EEG findings, we suggest that development of choreoathetosis was closely associated with the undesirable effects of LEV. We propose that dopaminergic system dysregulation and genetic susceptibility might underlie this unusual phenomenon after LEV treatment.

Keywords: Drug-induced chorea; Dyskinesia; Levetiracetam; Video-EEG.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Brain MRI showed extension of glioblastoma of spinal cord to the brainstem and another lesion in the right temporal lobe
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
EEG showed no epileptiform discharges during the episode of chorea movement
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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