TRANSIENT HEMIBALLISM
Authors: M E WINFIELD
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1960)

Case Reports1 October 1960TRANSIENT HEMIBALLISMMARK E. WINFIELD, M.D.MARK E. WINFIELD, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-53-4-822 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptHemiballism is a hyperkinesia,1consisting of bizarre involuntary movements, which occurs when the subthalamic nucleus of Luys or its pathways are damaged or destroyed.2-6It has been shown in animal experiments that this lima bean-sized nucleus must be at least 20% destroyed for symptoms to be manifested clinically, and that a correlation exists between the severity of symptoms and the percentage of destruction.7The nucleus appears to regulate cerebral coördination.5Its destruction removes the regulating mechanism, and the resulting hemiballism is due to other surviving structures,8since animal experiments prove that the involuntary movements are not produced by stimulation of...Bibliography1. RostowskiRobertson JRF: Hemi-hyperkinesis (hemiballismus, hemichorea, hemi-pseudo-purposive movements), Edinburgh M. J. 57: 478, 1950. MedlineGoogle Scholar2. Whittier JR: Ballism and the subthalamic nucleus (nucleus hypothalamicus corpus Luysii), Arch. Neurol. and Psychiat. 58: 672, 1947. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Greenfield JG: Historical landmarks in the pathology of involuntary movements, J. Neuropath. and Exper. Neurol. 15: 5, 1956. CrossrefGoogle Scholar4. MoerschKernohan FPJW: Hemiballismus, a clinicopathologic study, Arch. Neurol. and Psychiat. 41: 365, 1939. CrossrefGoogle Scholar5. Tice T: Practice of medicine, 1957, Vol. 10, W. F. Prior Co., Inc., Hagerstown, Maryland, p. 317. Google Scholar6. HylandForman HHDM: Prognosis in hemiballism, Neurology 7: 381, 1957. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Whittier JR: Experimental subthalamic hyperkinesia, J. Nerv. and Ment. Dis. 113: 267, 1951. MedlineGoogle Scholar8. Martin JP: Hemichorea resulting from a local lesion of the brain (the syndrome of the body of Luys), Brain 50: 637, 1927. CrossrefGoogle Scholar9. Rabiner AM: Abnormal involuntary movements; a critical evaluation of diagnosis, therapy and prognosis, New York State J. Med. 54: 3239, 1954. MedlineGoogle Scholar10. CarpenterCarpenter MBCS: Analysis of somatotropic relations of the corpus Luysii in man and monkey, J. Comp. Neurol. 95: 349, 1951. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar11. MeyersSweeneySchwiddle RDBJT: Hemiballismus: aetiology and surgical treatment, J. Neurol., Neurosurg. and Psychiat. 13: 115, 1950. CrossrefGoogle Scholar12. Gregory HS: A case of hemiballismus, New York State J. Med. 38: 635, 1938. Google Scholar13. Carpenter MB: Ballism associated with partial destruction of the subthalamic nucleus of Luys, Neurology 5: 479, 1955. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar14. Kelman H: Hemiballismus, a clinicopathologic study of two cases, J. Nerv. and Ment. Dis. 100: 363, 1945. CrossrefGoogle Scholar15. Pfeil ET: Hemiballismus: hemichorea following a lesion of the corpus Luysi, J. Nerv. and Ment. Dis. 116: 36, 1952. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar16. LemmenDavisFisher LJJSER: Hemiballismus secondary to metastatic carcinoma of the gall bladder, Neurology 7: 873, 1957. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar17. BucyCase PCTJ: Athetosis. II. Surgical treatment of unilateral athetosis, Arch. Neurol. and Psychiat. 37: 983, 1937. CrossrefGoogle Scholar18. Myers R: Parkinsonism, athetosis and ballism, a report of progress in surgical therapy, Postgrad. Med. 17: 369, 1955. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar19. TatlowFisherDobkin WFCMAB: The clinical effects of chlorpromazine on dyskinesia, Canad. M. A. J. 71: 380, 1954. MedlineGoogle Scholar20. Scheinberg P: A critical review of circulatory physiology as it applies to cerebral vascular disease, Ann. Int. Med. 48: 1001, 1958. LinkGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Los Angeles, California*Received for publication August 24, 1959.From the Department of Medicine, Veterans Administration Center, and University of California Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.Requests for reprints should be addressed to Mark E. Winfield, M.D., Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles 24, California. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byHemiballism-hemichorea Induced by Subcortical IschemiaTreatment and Prognosis of HemiballismusPhenothiazine Bibliographies 1 October 1960Volume 53, Issue 4Page: 822-827KeywordsAlcoholsHypertensionHypotensionPathogenesis ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 October 1960 PDF downloadLoading ...