Response of Hemiballismus to Haloperidol
1975; American Medical Association; Volume: 233; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1001/jama.1975.03260060045019
ISSN1538-3598
Autores Tópico(s)Genetic Neurodegenerative Diseases
ResumoTHE CONTINUOUS involuntary flailing movements of hemiballismus have proved resistant to medical therapy. In 1959, Martin and McCaul1described effective surgical treatment by placement of a stereotactic lesion in the thalamic ventrolateral nucleus. Recently, Pearce2has reported from England the successful treatment of a case of hemiballismus with the drug tetrabenazine (Nitoman; available only in Britain). Neither tetrabenazine nor any comparable product is available in the United States. In certain cases of hemiballismus, the movement disorder will gradually subside spontaneously,3but in many others it is unremitting and may be life-threatening to the elderly patient with limited cardiac reserve. In the case presently reported, treatment with haloperidol (Haldol) produced a prompt, marked, and sustained improvement in hemiballismus. Report of a Case A 79-year-old diabetic man had hemiballismus of the right extremities of three weeks' duration, which had markedly worsened over the ten days prior to admission. For several
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