Cyclizine-induced chorea. Observations on the influence of cyclizine on dopamine-related movement disorders

Cyclizine was observed to induce generalized chorea in a patient with mild lingual-facial-buccal dyskinesias. The mechanism for this action was shown to be cyclizine's central anticholinergic activity. This was consistent with previous findings that acetycholine antagonists can lower the threshold for appearance of abnormal choreatic movements related to dopaminergic mechanisms by alteration of the dopamine/acetylcholine balance in the corpus striatum. Furthermore, our study was supportive of the hypothesis that spontaneous lingual-facial-buccal dyskinesias in the elderly may be the mildest manifestations of senile chorea.