Effect of acupuncture treatment on nonketotic hyperglycemic hemichorea-hemiballismus: a case report

Nonketotic hyperglycemic hemichorea-hemiballismus is a rare syndrome in the clinic, and treatment is often delayed. Hypoglycemic therapy is the most widely used and effective treatment, but some patients experience a slower improvement. Other symptomatic treatment medicines have some degree of side effects. Acupuncture treatment is beneficial for hemichorea-hemiballismus. A male patient, aged 59 years, first visited our hospital outpatient department due to motor agitation with involuntary movements of the right limb. He had a history of type 2 diabetes mellitus and poor blood glucose control. His serum glucose was 26.5 mmol/L (normal: 4.4-6.1 mmol/L), and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated an irregular area of high signal intensity in T1-weighted imaging, low signal intensity on T2-weighted imaging, and high signal intensity in the left corpus striatum in T2-FLAIR imaging. Hospitalization was recommended for the patient. After ruling out other possibilities, he was eventually diagnosed with nonketotic hyperglycemic hemichorea-hemiballismus. Intensive glycemic control was immediately started with subcutaneous injection and acupuncture treatment at "governor vessel 13 acupoints", and the involuntary movements completely disappeared on the ninth day of hospitalization. The pathophysiology of nonketotic hyperglycemic hemichorea-hemiballismus is unclear. Different patient histories lead to different brain tissue conditions, and relapses and uncontrolled blood glucose add difficulties to treatment. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, insufficient kidney essence leads to brain dystrophy and causes the symptoms of hemichorea-hemiballismus. Research evidence has shown that acupuncture at "governor vessel 13 acupoints" has a beneficial treatment effect on nonketotic hyperglycemic hemichorea-hemiballismus.