Carbamazepine: an alternative drug for the treatment of nonhereditary chorea

Five patients with a moderate to severe degree of nonhereditary chorea were successfully treated with standard anticonvulsant doses of carbamazepine. In two cases, the cause of chorea was related to a streptococcal infection. In another patient, the involuntary movements appeared seven days after severe head injury. The cause in the remaining two patients could not be determined with certainty, despite extensive laboratory investigations. Improvement began within four to 15 days after the initiation of therapy. No side effects were noticed in four patients throughout treatment (3 months to 36 months). In one patient, the medication had to be discontinued after 17 days, because of an allergic cutaneous rash. In view of our results, we propose that carbamazepine be considered as an alternative drug for the treatment of nonhereditary chorea.