SUN-684 The Dance of Diabetes

Abstract

Nonketotic hyperglycemic chorea-ballism (NKHCB) is a rare movement disorder typically associated with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. It is often the result of a focal lesion of the contralateral basal ganglia. Here we present a case of a patient who presented with hyperglycemic chorea as the initial manifestation of their diabetes. A 73 year old caucasian female with no known past medical history was brought to the emergency room with involuntary movements of the left face, arm and leg. These movements were sudden in onset and not suppressible. Her vitals were stable on arrival and exam was benign apart from choreiform movements of the left arm, left leg and left perioral muscles. Her labs were significant for a random blood glucose level of 418 mg/dl and HbA1c of 12%. As part of her workup she underwent a CT head which showed an asymmetric hyperdensity involving the right putamen. She underwent additional workup of chorea to exclude infection, vitamin deficiencies, heavy metal poisoning, electrolyte imbalances, liver dysfunction, all of which returned negative. She eventually underwent an MRI of the brain which showed symmetric, mildly bright T1 signal within both putamen suggestive of mild bilateral calcium deposition bilaterally. The patient was further evaluated by neurology who felt that her overall clinical presentation and imaging findings were consistent with a diagnosis of NKHCB. She was placed on an insulin regimen with significant improvement in blood glucose levels. Her symptoms resolved within two weeks as noted on outpatient follow up. NKHCB is a rare condition that manifests in the setting of uncontrolled nonketotic diabetes mellitus. The exact underlying pathophysiology of changes seen on imaging of patients with NKHCB is not fully understood. The diagnosis is based on typical clinical and radiological features including the presence of ballistic or choreiform movements in the setting of marked hyperglycemia and the absence of ketoacidosis. This case is unusual as her chorea was the presenting symptom of her diabetes which was previously undiagnosed. The characteristic radiological feature is a high signal intensity basal ganglia lesion on the T1-weighted brain MRI. The mainstay of treatment includes normalization of the blood glucose, although in some cases antipsychotic use has been described. In most cases, complete resolution of symptoms has been reported within 10 months. Given the excellent prognosis with management of blood glucose, non ketotic hyperglycemia is an important differential to consider in a patient presenting with chorea-hemiballismus.