Sydenham's Chorea-Reply

Abstract

In Reply. —Because of the potential for controversy about the utility of Sydenham's as an etiologic model for childhood-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder and Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome, I was surprised and pleased that the concerns raised did not address this issue, but rather the details of the case report. I appreciate the careful consideration given to the article by Dr Jeret and Dr Jaffe, and I also appreciate the opportunity to clarify the Grand Rounds presentation. As pointed out by Jeret, the EEG findings in the case report were condensed in confusing fashion. The pertinent portion of the original EEG report reads as follows: mildly abnormal and consistent with Sydenham's chorea because of the presence (during wakefulness) of a background consisting of an irregular rhythm bilaterally which has maximum frequency of 9 Hz; intermixed, there are many slow waves of 4-5 Hz frequency and 20-40 microvolts in