Project description:Non-ketotic hyperglycemia chorea-ballismus (NKH-CB) is a rare metabolical syndrome secondary to the hyperglycemic condition, which is characterized by a triad of acute or subacute hemichorea-hemiballismus, hyperglycemic state, and unique abnormalities limited to the striatum on neuroimaging. Several related case studies on this disorder have been reported previously, but NKH-CB had never been associated with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Herein, we report an uncommon case of NKH-CB and ICH that occurred simultaneously in one patient, which provides a challenge for clinicians in making a correct diagnosis. An 88-year-old woman with a long-term history of poor-controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension, who presented with a sudden-onset headache, restlessness, severe bilateral choreiform and ballistic movements, elevated levels of glucose and osmolality in the serum, an increased white blood cell count, and two-type hyperdense signs on CT imaging, was finally diagnosed with NKH-CB and ICH. Despite administrated active treatments, the patient's clinical status did not improve and ultimately passed away. This case is reported to remind clinicians to consider the possibility of NKH-CB when patients present sudden-onset choreiform and ballistic movements. It is also the first entity with two-type hyperdense signs on CT imaging simultaneously, which helps us distinguish NKH-CB from ICH more intuitively.
Project description:BackgroundThe non-ketotic hyperglycemic chorea (NKHC) was a rare complication for patients with diabetes mellitus, but not been well studied. In the present research, we aimed to investigate the clinical and imaging characteristics of NKHC and explore the potential association.MethodsWe performed a case-control study with patients diagnosed as NKHC. The patients with group of NKHC were retrospectively recruited, while the matched group were set to screened patients with diabetes mellitus but no NKHC at a 1:3 ratio. The clinical and imaging data were collected for all the participants of the two groups. Firstly, Correlation analysis was conducted to test the difference of all the variables between the NKHC group and matched group. Then, the putative associated factors for NKHC were further identified.ResultsEleven men and 9 women with NKHC and 60 matched participants were analyzed. The mean age of the NKHC group was 68.5 ± 14.9 years. Participants with NKHC were more likely to have a higher glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level (13 ± 2.82 vs. 10.57 ± 2.71, P<0.001), and a higher frequency of renal dysfunction (estimated glomerular filtration rates <60 ml/min/1.73m2) (55% vs. 20%, P=0.005). Logistic regression analyses showed that both higher HbA1c and renal dysfunction were significantly correlated with NKHC.ConclusionA higher value of HbA1c and renal dysfunction may be associated with the occurrence of NKHC.
Project description:(A) Computed tomography of the brain showing no abnormal finding. (B) Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showing a T1-weighted area of hyperintensity in the left putamen, caudate nucleus, and globus pallidum with sparing of the internal capsule (arrow). (C) T2*-weighted image showing hypointensity in the left putamen, caudate nucleus, and globus pallidum (arrowhead). (D) T2-weighted image showing no abnormal finding.
Project description:Objective: To explore the clinical manifestation, diagnosis, therapy, and mechanism of hemichorea associated with non-ketotic hyperglycemia (HC-NH) so as to enhance awareness and avoid misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis of the disease. Methods: A case of HC-NH was reported and reviewed in terms of the clinical features, diagnosis and treatment. Results: Hemichorea associated with non-ketotic hyperglycemia is a rare complication of diabetes mellitus, which is commonly seen in elderly women with poorly-controlled diabetes. The condition is characterized by non-ketotic hyperglycemia, unilateral involuntary choreiform movements, and contralateral basal ganglia hyper-intensity by T1-weighted MR imaging or high density on CT scans. Blood glucose control is the basal treatment, in combination with dopamine receptor antagonists and benzodiazepine sedative, in controlling hemichorea. Conclusion: In clinical practice, the possibility of unilateral chorea should be considered for diabetic patients with poor blood glucose control.
Project description:Bilateral basal ganglia abnormalities on MRI are observed in a wide variety of childhood disorders. MRI pattern recognition can enable rationalization of investigations and also complement clinical and molecular findings, particularly confirming genomic findings and also enabling new gene discovery. A pattern recognition approach in children with bilateral basal ganglia abnormalities on brain MRI was undertaken in this international multicentre cohort study. Three hundred and five MRI scans belonging to 201 children with 34 different disorders were rated using a standard radiological scoring proforma. In addition, literature review on MRI patterns was undertaken in these 34 disorders and 59 additional disorders reported with bilateral basal ganglia MRI abnormalities. Cluster analysis on first MRI findings from the study cohort grouped them into four clusters: Cluster 1-T2-weighted hyperintensities in the putamen; Cluster 2-T2-weighted hyperintensities or increased MRI susceptibility in the globus pallidus; Cluster 3-T2-weighted hyperintensities in the globus pallidus, brainstem and cerebellum with diffusion restriction; Cluster 4-T1-weighted hyperintensities in the basal ganglia. The 34 diagnostic categories included in this study showed dominant clustering in one of the above four clusters. Inflammatory disorders grouped together in Cluster 1. Mitochondrial and other neurometabolic disorders were distributed across clusters 1, 2 and 3, according to lesions dominantly affecting the striatum (Cluster 1: glutaric aciduria type 1, propionic acidaemia, 3-methylglutaconic aciduria with deafness, encephalopathy and Leigh-like syndrome and thiamine responsive basal ganglia disease associated with SLC19A3), pallidum (Cluster 2: methylmalonic acidaemia, Kearns Sayre syndrome, pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency and succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency) or pallidum, brainstem and cerebellum (Cluster 3: vigabatrin toxicity, Krabbe disease). The Cluster 4 pattern was exemplified by distinct T1-weighted hyperintensities in the basal ganglia and other brain regions in genetically determined hypermanganesemia due to SLC39A14 and SLC30A10. Within the clusters, distinctive basal ganglia MRI patterns were noted in acquired disorders such as cerebral palsy due to hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy in full-term babies, kernicterus and vigabatrin toxicity and in rare genetic disorders such as 3-methylglutaconic aciduria with deafness, encephalopathy and Leigh-like syndrome, thiamine responsive basal ganglia disease, pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration, TUBB4A and hypermanganesemia. Integrated findings from the study cohort and literature review were used to propose a diagnostic algorithm to approach bilateral basal ganglia abnormalities on MRI. After integrating clinical summaries and MRI findings from the literature review, we developed a prototypic decision-making electronic tool to be tested using further cohorts and clinical practice.
Project description:BackgroundChorea secondary to digoxin toxicity is rare, with only three published cases describing the phenomenon. We report the case of a 78-year-old female presenting with intermittent vomiting and diarrhoea for 4 weeks. She had a history of chronic kidney disease and digoxin use for atrial fibrillation.Case summaryA 78-year-old lady presented to the emergency department with a 4-week history of intermittent vomiting and diarrhoea. These symptoms commenced after a course of antibiotics prescribed by her general practitioner for a urinary tract infection. Her admission electrocardiogram demonstrated atrial fibrillation at a rate of 32, with evidence of digitalis toxicity. Her creatinine was 396 µmol/L (44-80 µmol/L) with digoxin level 8.1 nmol/L (0.77-1.5 nmol/L). Initially, treatment was with digoxin-specific antibody (FAB) and fluid resuscitation. Within 24 h, she developed transient head, neck, and bilateral upper limb chorea. Review of medications revealed no other likely causative agent. Neuroimaging showed no new ischaemia, but stable established bilateral infarcts of the basal ganglia. Haloperidol 0.5 mg twice daily was commenced. Three days later as digoxin levels normalized, the chorea resolved entirely without recurrence.DiscussionWe have identified three reported cases of digoxin-induced chorea. Our case resembles two of the published cases where a transient bilateral chorea, associated with digitalis toxicity and resolving within a few days of normalization of digoxin levels was demonstrated. There were no other focal neurological signs or symptoms. It has been postulated that an alteration to dopaminergic neuronal activity is a potential mechanism, as digoxin also demonstrates neuropsychiatric side effects such as psychosis and depression.
Project description:Isolated hemichorea (HC) in adults has a relatively restricted differential diagnosis including stroke of contralateral basal ganglia nuclei, nonketotic hyperglycemia, and basal ganglia toxoplasmosis in HIV infection. Hypoparathyroidism-related basal ganglia calcification can potentially cause neurological problems, including movement disorders, that are usually bilateral in keeping with bilateral symmetric lesions. We report a patient with video-documented isolated, adult-onset HC due to iatrogenic hypoparathyroidism and bilateral basal ganglia calcification. A 47-year-old woman presented with isolated adult-onset HC of 2 years' duration as the presenting and only neurological feature of hypoparathyroidism and bilateral extensive basal ganglia calcification, 20 years after thyroidectomy-induced hypoparathyroidism. Significant improvement in the unilateral hyperkinesia was noted after correction of hypocalcemia and hypoparathyroidism at 3 months. Isolated HC in adults is a rare presenting feature of hypoparathyroidism with bilateral basal ganglia calcification and is treatable with correction of the underlying metabolic abnormality. In all cases with a movement disorder and brain calcification, hypoparathyroidism should be actively sought as this treatable condition must not be missed.
Project description:Focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures are associated with lower quality of life, higher risk of seizure-related injuries, increased chance of sudden unexpected death, and unfavourable treatment outcomes. Achieving greater understanding of their underlying circuitry offers better opportunity to control these seizures. Towards this goal, we provide a network science perspective of the interactive pathways among basal ganglia, thalamus and cortex, to explore the imprinting of secondary seizure generalization on the mesoscale brain network in temporal lobe epilepsy. Specifically, we parameterized the functional organization of both the thalamocortical network and the basal ganglia-thalamus network with resting state functional MRI in three groups of patients with different focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizure histories. Using the participation coefficient to describe the pattern of thalamocortical connections among different cortical networks, we showed that, compared to patients with no previous history, those with positive histories of focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures, including both remote (none for >1 year) and current (within the past year) histories, presented more uniform distribution patterns of thalamocortical connections in the ipsilateral medial-dorsal thalamic nuclei. As a sign of greater thalamus-mediated cortico-cortical communication, this result comports with greater susceptibility to secondary seizure generalization from the epileptogenic temporal lobe to broader brain networks in these patients. Using interregional integration to characterize the functional interaction between basal ganglia and thalamus, we demonstrated that patients with current history presented increased interaction between putamen and globus pallidus internus, and decreased interaction between the latter and the thalamus, compared to the other two patient groups. Importantly, through a series of 'disconnection' simulations, we showed that these changes in interactive profiles of the basal ganglia-thalamus network in the current history group mainly depended upon the direct but not the indirect basal ganglia pathway. It is intuitively plausible that such disruption in the striatum-modulated tonic inhibition of the thalamus from the globus pallidus internus could lead to an under-suppressed thalamus, which in turn may account for their greater vulnerability to secondary seizure generalization. Collectively, these findings suggest that the broken balance between basal ganglia inhibition and thalamus synchronization can inform the presence and effective control of focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures. The mechanistic underpinnings we uncover may shed light on the development of new treatment strategies for patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.
Project description:We aimed to explore whether motor function and activities of daily life (ADL) could be improved with the application of visual deprivation in two patients with Pusher syndrome complicated by hemispatial neglect after right basal ganglia stroke. We assessed two stroke patients suffering from severe motor disturbances, both tilting heavily to the left, with diagnoses of Pusher syndrome and left hemispatial neglect. Vision in the left eye was deprived using patches during clinical rehabilitation. Motor function promotion was confirmed using the Burke Lateropulsion Scale (BLS), Fugl-Meyer Balance Scale (FMBS), and Holden grade (HG), while the Barthel index (BI) assessed ADL immediately and 1 week after intervention. Both patients regained standing balance immediately using visual deprivation, as well as walking ability, although both scored 0 on the FMBS and HG. After 1 week of treatment, one patient increased to 11 and 3 on the FMBS and HG, respectively, while the BLS score decreased from 12 to 2, and the ADL increased from 23 to 70. The other patient demonstrated increases to 10 and 3 on the FMBS and HG, respectively, with the BLS decreasing from 13 to 3, and the ADL increasing from 25 to 60. Therefore, in the rehabilitation treatment of Pusher syndrome complicated by hemispatial neglect due to basal ganglia stroke, visual deprivation can significantly improve motor function and shorten the treatment course.