A Case of Hemichorea of Unknown Cause in a Hemodialysis Patient / 대한신장학회잡지

ABSTRACT

Uremic patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) therapy are prone to develop encephalopathy, but the cause is often unclear. Clinical signs of encephalopathy in the uremic patient often overlap with several other affections causing neurological disorders. Chorea or hemichorea occurs very rare, when basal ganglia are injured in HD patients. We hereby report a case of hemichorea of unknown cause in a hemodialysis patients. A 57-year-old diabetic HD patient was presented with sudden onset of right hemichorea. We could not find causes of hemichorea such as hyperglycemia, hepatic failure, drug, hyponatremia, and thiamine deficiency. T1-weighted MRI demonstrated hyperintense lesion limited to the left basal ganglion. Hemichorea disappeared completely 6 months after the onset with support care.