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Diagnosis and Treatment of Chorea Syndromes

  • Movement Disorders (M Okun, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Chorea is a common movement disorder which can be caused by a large variety of diseases including neurodegenerative diseases, metabolic diseases, and autoimmune diseases, or can be secondary to structural changes. The basal ganglia seem to be mainly involved in the pathophysiology indicating the vulnerability of this region. The diagnosis can be challenging, especially if chorea occurs during the treatment of neuropsychiatric conditions, and in these cases, it is difficult to distinguish between medication side effects (i.e., tardive dyskinesia) and the development of a neurodegenerative disease. Most therapeutic approaches are predominantly symptomatic, with a focus on multidisciplinary care for many patients. Nevertheless, some underlying diseases can be successfully treated and must not be missed. In this review, we summarize recent new developments in the differential diagnosis of chorea syndromes and suggest a pathway for a successful diagnosis of chorea in infancy, childhood, and adulthood for daily practice.

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Conflict of Interest

Andreas Hermann has received an official grant from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research for Research on Chorea acanthocytosis.

Ruth H. Walker has received honoraria from the American Academy of Neurology for speaking at the annual meeting.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Department of Neurology, Dresden University of Technology, 01307, Dresden, Germany

    Andreas Hermann

  2. German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Dresden, 01307, Dresden, Germany

    Andreas Hermann

  3. Department of Neurology, James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 130 W. Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY, 10468, USA

    Ruth H. Walker

  4. Department of Neurology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Ruth H. Walker

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  1. Andreas Hermann
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  2. Ruth H. Walker
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Correspondence to Ruth H. Walker.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Movement Disorders

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Hermann, A., Walker, R.H. Diagnosis and Treatment of Chorea Syndromes. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 15, 1 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-014-0514-0

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