Recurrent hormone dependent chorea: effects of oestrogens and progestogens

A case of hemi-chorea is described in a young woman, initially following administration of an oral contraceptive pill and recurring in a subsequent early pregnancy. The chorea ceased with the removal of the aetiological factor on each occasion. Subsequent challenge with a combined oestrogen/progestogen pill resulted in recurrence of the chorea, but the patient has been successfully maintained on a progestogen without any further symptoms. Thus it would appear that oestrogen component was the precipitating factor for the chorea.