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Chorea induced by the use of oral contraceptives

Report of a case and review of the literature

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Abstract

A rare complication of oral contraceptive therapy is the induction of chorea. We describe the case-history of a young woman who developed generalized chorea while receiving a low-dose estrogen-containing contraceptive. Dyskinesia resolved upon discontinuing the medication and after a brief treatment with an antidopaminergic agent. The literature of chorea associated with oral contraceptives and the different hypotheses about its pathogenesis are reviewed.

Sommario

Una rara complicanza della terapia contraccettiva orale è rappresentata dall'induzione di corea. In questo articolo descriviamo il caso di una ragazza che durante l'assunzione di un contraccettivo orale a basso contenuto estrogenico manifestò movimenti coreiformi generalizzati, i quali scomparvero dopo sospensione del farmaco e breve trattamento antidopaminergico. Presentiamo inoltre una rassegna della letteratura inerente la corea da contraccettivi orali e le diverse ipotesi patogenetiche al riguardo.

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Galimberti, D. Chorea induced by the use of oral contraceptives. Ital J Neuro Sci 8, 381–386 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02335743

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