What are the treatments for chorea?

What are the treatments for chorea?

Some people may not be aware of their chorea; others may view their mild symptoms simply as a nuisance or perhaps as a social embarrassment. However, if your chorea is severe or disabling or interferes with the quality of your life, you should see your doctor for treatment.

The type of treatment depends on what is causing the movement disorder.

• If Huntington’s disease is the cause, although doctors can’t cure the disease, they can prescribe medications that may be able to control the movements. Doctors prescribe deutetrabenazine (Austedo®) or tetrabenazine (Xenazine®) to control muscle movements of Huntington’s chorea.
• If chorea is part of a tardive dyskinesia syndrome, the medications valbenazine (Ingrezza®) and deutetrabenazine are usually considered.
• Amantadine is sometimes tried if levodopa (Parkinson medication) is the cause of the chorea. Antipsychotics are sometimes considered if you have both chorea and psychiatric conditions present, such as agitation, irritability, anxiety, depression, suicide and apathy.
• Kids who have Sydenham chorea usually get better in less than two years without any treatment at all. If the chorea is severe, doctors can prescribe medication (for example, corticosteroids) to help control the movements. Doctors also prescribe antibiotics to kill the rheumatic fever infection.
• If chorea is caused by a medication, stopping the medication may help lessen the abnormal muscle movements.
• If chorea is caused by endocrine or metabolic disorders (such as hyperthyroidism, hypoglycemia, hypoparathyroidism, hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia), treating those conditions usually lessens the abnormal muscle movements.
• The use of deep brain stimulation to reduce chorea has been tried in some patients but is considered an experimental treatment for this disorder. Deep brain stimulation may be an option if chorea is severe and all other treatments have been tried and failed.