Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0008489 (chorea)
 2,102 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This paper reports on the case of a 17-year-old black, healthy girl who developed Sydenham chorea 8 weeks after beginning oral contraception (OC). All laboratory tests being normal, the patient was told to discontinue OC use; 2 weeks later the chorea symptoms disappeared completely and did not return. Chorea is an extremely rare neurological condition associated with OC use; since 1966 there have been only 27 reported cases; in all cases the symptoms disappeared within 1 week-5 months after termination of contraceptive use. It is interesting to note that in 10 out of the 27 reported cases the patients used a preparation containing mestranol. Phenytoin sodium and methadone are cited in the literature as drugs able to induce chorea. Some authors suggest that it is the estrogen component of OC that is responsible for chorea; others suggest an increased dopamine receptor sensitivity. When treating chorea it is important to differentiate drug-induced movement disorders from structural neurologic dysfunctions.
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PMID:Chorea associated with the use of oral contraceptives: report of a case and review of the literature. 730 18