Dystonic posturing with athetoid movements in stroke without thalamic lesion.

Complex hyperkinetic movement disorders are a rare complication of stroke, frequently involving posterolateral contralateral thalamic lesions. One of the proposed mechanisms for these presentations is proprioceptive impairment, hence not involving deregulation of the basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits. We report a patient who presented with dystonic posturing and athetoid movements with onset 2 years after right frontoparietotemporal stroke. Brain MRI showed no thalamic lesion. Based on the phenomenology, a diagnosis of pseudochoreoathetosis was proposed. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of poststroke pseudochoreoathetosis without thalamic involvement.

Crossed Choreoathetosis Caused by Unilateral Thalamic Hemorrhage.

In general, involuntary movements after stroke are due to a disturbance in the unilateral cortico-basal ganglia loop and appear contralateral to stroke lesions. Crossed involuntary movements after unilateral stroke are very rare. We observed a case of crossed involuntary movements in the left upper limb and right lower limb after a right thalamic hemorrhage expanded to the right subthalamic nucleus. We considered a possible three-step theory as the basis of crossed choreoathetosis. This case informs our better understanding of the cortico-basal ganglia loop and involuntary movements after stroke.

Eye Gaze Gaming Intervention in Children with Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy: A Pilot Study of Task Performance and Its Relation with Dystonia and Choreoathetosis.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the operational competences screen navigation and dwell function underlying eye gaze performance, and the relation of dystonia and choreoathetosis with eye gaze performance in children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy (DCP). METHODS: During a 5-week intervention, ten participants with DCP played eye gaze video games daily for 30 minutes. Six games were used to assess task performance, fixation count, and eye movement accuracy during four measurements. Dystonia and choreoathetosis were evaluated using the Dyskinesia Impairment Scale. RESULTS: Eye gaze performance improved over time (p = .013). Moderate to strong within-subject correlations were found between eye movement accuracy and task performance, and between eye movement accuracy and fixation count. No significant correlations were found with the movement disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Eye gaze technology shows great potential to be a successful computer interface for children with severe DCP, thereby potentially improving their communication skills, participation levels, and quality of life.

Deep brain stimulation for dystonia-choreoathetosis in cerebral palsy: Pallidal versus thalamic stimulation.

INTRODUCTION: Dystonia-choreoathetosis is common in patients with cerebral palsy, and medical treatment is mostly unsatisfactory. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the globus pallidus internus (GPi) has shown some effect, but there is still a need to optimize treatment strategies. We aimed to assess whether the thalamic ventral intermediate nucleus (Vim) might be an alternative DBS target in dystonia-choreoathetosis. METHODS: Three patients with cerebral palsy and dystonia-choreoathetosis underwent implantation of DBS electrodes concurrently in the GPi and Vim. Final selection of stimulation site and switches during follow-up with corresponding clinical outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: One patient with initial GPi stimulation was switched to Vim, but likewise did not improve significantly (BFM: pre-OP 142, GPi 140, Vim 134) and stimulation was discontinued. In one patient Vim was chosen as initial target for chronic DBS. Since clinical benefit was not yet satisfying, stimulation was switched to GPi resulting in further mild clinical improvement (BFM: pre-OP 99.5, Vim 82.5, GPi 82). In one patient GPi was selected and kept on follow-up due to some therapeutic effect (BFM: pre-OP 135, GPi DBS 121). CONCLUSIONS: The GPi still represents the most convenient DBS target in patients with dystonia-choreoathetosis. Vim DBS did not show a relevant long-term advantage in everyday life in our patients. Further alternative DBS targets need to be considered in acquired dystonia.

Acute ischaemic stroke-related choreoathetosis treated with arterial thrombectomy.

A rare case of acute choreoathetosis after acute stroke is presented. This 66-years-old, right-handed Caucasian woman presented with weakness of her right arm and right leg with dysarthria, which resolved by the time she arrived in the emergency department. No obvious focal sign apart from the abnormal choreoathetoid movement of the right arm and leg and of the neck was present. Her medical history included atrial fibrillation without anticoagulation. CT head was nil acute (Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score of 10). CT angiography of the carotids showed a hyperdense M2 segment of the left middle cerebral artery. Intravenous thrombolysis immediately followed by thrombectomy was decided. Using the Penumbra aspiration device (ACE 68) two clots were removed with two aspirations. A small distal clot remained but partial recanalisation (Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction/Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction 2b) was achieved. 30 seconds after restoring blood flow, the choreoathetoid movements ceased. The patient was brought to intensive care for further monitoring, which was uneventful.

Corea subagudo reversible por déficit de vitamina B12 / Reversible subacute chorea caused by vitamin B12 deficiency

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A systematic review of scales to measure dystonia and choreoathetosis in children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy.

AIM: To identify and systematically review the psychometric properties and clinical utility of dystonia and choreoathetosis scales reported for children with cerebral palsy (CP). METHOD: Six electronic databases were searched for dystonia and choreoathetosis scales with original psychometric data for children with CP aged 0 to 18 years. RESULTS: Thirty-four papers met the inclusion criteria, which contained six scales purported to measure dystonia and/or choreoathetosis in children with CP: the Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale; Barry-Albright Dystonia Scale; Unified Dystonia Rating Scale; Movement Disorder-Childhood Rating Scale; Movement Disorder-Childhood Rating Scale 0-3 Years; and the Dyskinesia Impairment Scale. INTERPRETATION: Each scale provides useful information about dyskinesia, with most focusing on dystonia. The Barry-Albright Dystonia Scale, which was designed for CP, is the most commonly reported scale and least complex to use clinically. The Dyskinesia Impairment Scale is the only tool to consider both dystonia and choreoathetosis in CP. All tools are designed to classify movement disorders at the level of body functions and structures, rather than activity limitations or participation restrictions, although many provide some insight into the impact of dystonia on activities. Further studies are required to fully examine the validity, reliability, responsiveness, and clinical utility of each scale specifically for children with CP.

Choreoathetotic syndrome following cardiac surgery.

Movement disorders following heart surgery are very unusual. Post-pump chorea is mainly a pediatric complication of heart surgery, typically manifesting after a latent period of normality and is usually related with long extracorporeal circulation time and deep hypothermia. We report a 73-year-old woman, without risk factors predisposing to paroxysmal movement disorders, presenting acute choreoathetoid movements 5 days after aortic valvular replacement with normal extracorporeal circulation time and perioperative normothermia.

Status dystonicus in children: Early recognition and treatment prevent serious complications.

This is a retrospective study of all patients presenting to our paediatric unit with status dystonicus (SD) over a period of five years. Anonymous information was collected and a descriptive analysis is made. There were four episodes of SD in three children between 11 and 15 years of age. All children are known to have severe dyskinetic cerebral palsy and presented with an acute or sub-acute deterioration in their symptoms. Symptoms were triggered by infections in three of the four episodes. Early features included frequent and repetitive generalized muscle spasms, poor swallowing, poor sleep, distress and pain. Patients responded to supportive treatment, rehydration, benzodiazepines, baclofen and l-dopa. Intensive care was not necessary in any of the patients and patients made full recovery within 5-14 days. This report shows the value of early recognition and treatment of SD can be successful in preventing serious complications.

Clinical patterns of dystonia and choreoathetosis in participants with dyskinetic cerebral palsy.

AIM: The aim of the study was to map clinical patterns of dystonia and choreoathetosis and to assess the relation between functional classifications and basal ganglia and thalamus lesions in participants with dyskinetic cerebral palsy (CP). METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 55 participants with dyskinetic CP (mean age 14y 6mo, SD 4y 1mo; range 6-22y) were assessed with the Dyskinesia Impairment Scale and classified with the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), and Communication Function Classification System (CFCS). RESULTS: Dystonia and choreoathetosis are simultaneously present. Median levels of dystonia (70.2%) were significantly higher than levels of choreoathetosis (26.7%) and both were significantly higher during activity than at rest (both p<0.01). High correlations were found between dystonia levels and GMFCS level (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, rS =0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53-0.81; p<0.01) and MACS (rS =0.65; 95% CI 0.47-0.81; p<0.01), and fair correlation with CFCS (rs =0.36; 95% CI=0.11-0.57; p<0.05). No significant correlation was found between choreoathetosis levels and motor classifications. Finally, higher choreoathetosis levels were found in participants with pure thalamus and basal ganglia lesions (p=0.03) than mixed lesions, but not for dystonia (p=0.41). INTERPRETATION: Dystonia and choreoathetosis increase during activity. However, dystonia predominates and seems to have a larger impact on functional abilities. Our findings further suggest that choreoathetosis seems to be more linked to pure thalamus and basal ganglia lesions than dystonia.