Effectiveness of Valproic Acid in the Treatment of Sydenham's Chorea and a Literature Review

There is still no evidence-based guideline and consensus on the treatment Sydenham's Chorea (SC). The first-line medication preference of specialists depends on personal experience and is variable. In this study, we evaluate the treatment results of pediatric patients who were treated with valproic acid (VPA). The medical records of 17 patients diagnosed with SC were reviewed retrospectively. The mean time to clinical improvement was found as approximately 5 days, the mean duration of remission as 13.60 ± 3.94 weeks and the mean duration of medication use was found as 17.96 ± 3.81 weeks. No side effects were observed in any of the patients and relapse occurred in 2 patients. A positive correlation was found between the initial C-reactive protein (CRP) level and the duration of medication use. Until evidence-based guidelines are established, VPA can be used as an effective, safe, and inexpensive first-line treatment option, especially in pediatric patients.

Pharmacotherapy for Sydenham's chorea: where are we and where do we need to be?

INTRODUCTION

Sydenham's chorea (SC) is the most common cause of acquired chorea in children. The existing literature describes it as a benign, self-remitting condition. However, recent evidence discloses the persistence of long-course neuropsychiatric and cognitive complications in adulthood, which imposes to redefine the concept of 'benignity' of such condition. In addition, therapies are mostly empirical and non-evidence based.

AREAS COVERED

Here, we conducted an electronic exploration of the PubMed database and selected 165 relevant studies directly correlated to SC treatment. Critical data from selected articles were synthesized to provide an update on pharmacotherapy in SC, which basically consists of three pillars: antibiotic, symptomatic and immunomodulant treatments. Moreover, since SC mostly affects females with recurrences occurring in pregnancy (chorea gravidarum), we focused on the management in pregnancy.

EXPERT OPINION

SC is still a major burden in developing countries. The first therapeutic strategy should be the primary prevention of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) infection. Secondary antibiotic prophylaxis should be performed in every SC patient as the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines recommend. Symptomatic or immunomodulant treatments are administered according to clinical judgment. However, a greater effort to understand SC physiopathology is needed, together with larger trials, to outline appropriate therapeutic indications.

Psychopathological Impact in Patients with History of Rheumatic Fever with or without Sydenham's Chorea: A Multicenter Prospective Study

Sydenham's chorea (SC) is a post-streptococcal autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system, and it is a major criterium for the diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever (ARF). SC typically improves in 12-15 weeks, but patients can be affected for years by persistence and recurrencies of both neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms. We enrolled 48 patients with a previous diagnosis of ARF, with or without SC, in a national multicenter prospective study, to evaluate the presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms several years after SC's onset. Our population was divided in a SC group (n = 21), consisting of patients who had SC, and a nSC group (n = 27), consisting of patients who had ARF without SC. Both groups were evaluated by the administration of 8 different neuropsychiatric tests. The Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS) showed significantly (p = 0.021) higher alterations in the SC group than in the nSC group. Furthermore, 60.4% (n = 29) of the overall population experienced neuropsychiatric symptoms other than choreic movements at diagnosis and this finding was significantly more common (p = 0.00) in SC patients (95.2%) than in nSC patients (33.3%). The other neuropsychiatric tests also produced significant results, indicating that SC can exert a strong psychopathological impact on patients even years after its onset.

Sydenham's chorea: from pathophysiology to therapeutics

Sydenham's chorea is an autoimmune chorea emerging after a group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) infection, i.e. a rheumatic chorea with or without the presence of carditis or arthritis. The disorder, defined by the presence of chorea, is also associated with cognitive and behavioral symptoms, including emotional lability, anxiety, depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The authors review the pathophysiology, clinical characteristics, and available evidence on therapeutic strategies, the latter including the secondary prevention of GABHS infections, reduction of chorea, and immune modulation. Sydenham's chorea has been regarded as a model for pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders, however, the field is marked by conflicting results and controversies. Regarding therapeutics, there are limited high-quality interventional studies and the selection of treatment strategy often relies on the clinician's experience. A serial treatment algorithm is presented based upon the severity of clinical presentation and response to symptomatic pharmacotherapy.

Treatment of Sydenham's Chorea: A Review of the Current Evidence

Background

Sydenham’s chorea (SC), the neurologic manifestation of rheumatic fever, remains the most prevalent form of chorea in children. Suggested treatments of chorea in SC include prophylactic penicillin, symptomatic (antipsychotic and anticonvulsant) medications, and immunomodulatory therapy (steroids, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and plasma exchange). In this manuscript, we undertook a systematic review of the published literature to examine the data supporting these therapeutic recommendations.

Methods

A search of PubMed, Embase, Psychinfo, and clinicaltrials.gov was conducted for publications pertaining to the treatment of SC/rheumatic chorea from 1956 to 2016.

Results

Penicillin prophylaxis appears to reduce the likelihood of further cardiac complications and the recurrence rate of chorea. Data on symptomatic therapy for chorea are limited to individual case reports or series and rare comparison studies. The efficacy of steroid use is supported by a single placebo-controlled study and several case series. Information on other immunomodulatory therapies such as IVIG and plasmapheresis are limited to a small number of reports and a single comparison study.

Discussion

Treatment decisions in SC are currently based on the treating physician’s clinical experience, the desire to avoid side effects, and the existence of only limited scientific evidence. Based on a review of the available literature, chorea often improves with symptomatic therapy and immunotherapy tends to be reserved for those who fail to respond. Steroids are beneficial; however, data using IVIG and plasmapheresis are very limited. Larger, well-controlled studies, using standardized assessment scales, are required if therapeutic decisions for SC are to be based on meaningful information.

Hello from the Other Side: How Autoantibodies Circumvent the Blood-Brain Barrier in Autoimmune Encephalitis

Antibodies against neuronal receptors and synaptic proteins are associated with autoimmune encephalitides (AE) that produce movement and psychiatric disorders. In order to exert their pathological effects on neural circuits, autoantibodies against central nervous system (CNS) targets must gain access to the brain and spinal cord by crossing the blood–brain barrier (BBB), a tightly regulated gateway formed by endothelial cells lining CNS blood vessels. To date, the pathogenic mechanisms that underlie autoantibody-triggered encephalitic syndromes are poorly understood, and how autoantibodies breach the barrier remains obscure for almost all AE syndromes. The relative importance of cellular versus humoral immune mechanisms for disease pathogenesis also remains largely unexplored. Here, we review the proposed triggers for various autoimmune encephalopathies and their animal models, as well as basic structural features of the BBB and how they differ among various CNS regions, a feature that likely underlies some regional aspects of autoimmune encephalitis pathogenesis. We then discuss the routes that antibodies and immune cells employ to enter the CNS and their implications for AE. Finally, we explore future therapeutic strategies that may either preserve or restore barrier function and thereby limit immune cell and autoantibody infiltration into the CNS. Recent mechanistic insights into CNS autoantibody entry indicate promising future directions for therapeutic intervention beyond current, short-lived therapies that eliminate circulating autoantibodies.

Tonsillectomy remains a questionable option for pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS)

Background: Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS) is a disease attributed to children with obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD) or tic disorders associated with streptococcal infections. Because otolaryngologists examine a large number of pediatric patients with recurrent streptococcal infections, tonsillectomy (TE) is a common option of therapy. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of TE in patients presenting with verified PANDAS. Material and methods: A PubMed review was performed using search terms "tonsillectomy" and "PANDAS", "OCD", "compulsive" "pediatric autoimmune", "chorea" and "tic" limited by publication date of January 1, 1995, to July 31, 2015. Reviews without patients were not included in the review. Results: Nine papers matched our search criteria, including 6 case reports with 8 patients and 3 case series. Most case reports were in favor of TE, but this was by far not supported by the findings in the case series. The follow-up ranged from 2 to 36 months in case reports and from 24 to 36 in case series. Conclusion: Establishing the diagnosis of PANDAS is complicated because of underlying comorbidities in the field of neurology-psychiatry and the lack of a reliable biomarker. The positive outcome after TE as reported in case studies may be influenced by the postoperative medication and is not supported by the results of large-scale studies. In the light of the considerable postoperative morbidity rate, it appears wise to indicate TE for PANDAS only in supervised clinical studies.

Predictors of recurrence in Sydenham's chorea: Clinical observation from a single center

OBJECTIVE

Sydenham's chorea is the most common cause of acquired chorea in children and is the major manifestation for acute rheumatic fever. Despite being known as a benign, self-limiting condition, recurrences and persistence of symptoms can be seen. In this study, we aimed to evaluate retrospectively the clinical and laboratory features of patients with Sydenham's chorea and the rate and the course of recurrences, and to assess the risk of recurrences.

METHODS

The study was a retrospective study conducted in a tertiary hospital. Patients with Sydenham's chorea who were admitted to our outpatient clinics between January 2013 and June 2015 were included. Both newly diagnosed and follow-up patients were enrolled during this period. We retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of the patients.

RESULTS

There were 90 patients with female predominance. The mean age of onset was 11±2.4years. Complete remission was maintained in 77 patients (85.6%) at 1-6months and 4 patients had symptoms at more than 12months. Patients were followed for 6months to 9years. The recurrence rate was 16%. When we compared recurrent patients with the non-recurrent group, complete remission in 6months, the presence of persistent chorea, and regular use of prophylaxis were significantly different between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Sydenham's chorea is still an important health problem and has high morbidity in patients with recurrent and persistent chorea. The irregular usage of antibiotic prophylaxis, failure to achieve remission within 6months, and prolongation of symptoms for more than 1year are risk factors for recurrence of chorea.

CNS autoimmune disease after Streptococcus pyogenes infections: animal models, cellular mechanisms and genetic factors

Streptococcus pyogenes infections have been associated with two autoimmune diseases of the CNS: Sydenham's chorea (SC) and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcus infections (PANDAS). Despite the high frequency of pharyngeal streptococcus infections among children, only a small fraction develops SC or PANDAS. This suggests that several factors in combination are necessary to trigger autoimmune complications: specific S. pyogenes strains that induce a strong immune response toward the host nervous system; genetic susceptibility that predispose children toward an autoimmune response involving movement or tic symptoms; and multiple infections of the throat or tonsils that lead to a robust T_h17 cellular and humoral immune response when untreated. In this review, we summarize the evidence for each factor and propose that all must be met for the requisite neurovascular pathology and behavioral deficits found in SC/PANDAS.

Neuropsychological manifestations in children with Sydenham's chorea after adjunct intravenous immunoglobulin and standard treatment

This was an exploratory study comparing neuropsychological manifestations of Sydenham's chorea (SC), 6 months after initiation of treatment, in children who had received intravenous immunoglobulins as an adjunct to standard treatment, with those who had received standard treatment. We included a non-SC control group for comparison. We hypothesized that compared to controls, children with SC who had received prior intravenous immunoglobulins would demonstrate less pronounced impairments compared to those who had received standard care. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 17 children with -SC who had received treatment 6 months previously (9 treated with standard of care and 8 augmented with intravenous immunoglobulins) and 17 non-SC, medically well controls. The standard treatment group (n = 9) exhibited significant behavioral difficulties, including significantly poorer co-operation (p = 0.009) compared with the other augmented immunoglobulins and non-SC control groups, and increased impulsivity (p = 0.016) compared with non-SC controls. The standard treatment group scored significantly lower than the other two groups on a measure of executive functioning (p = 0.03). Children with SC may be more at risk for neuropsychological difficulties than non-SC, medically well children. Intravenous immunoglobulins may mitigate some of these impairments.

Chorea: A Journey through History

The original descriptions of chorea date from the Middle Ages, when an epidemic of "dancing mania" swept throughout Europe. The condition was initially considered a curse sent by a saint, but was named "Saint Vitus's dance" because afflicted individuals were cured if they touched churches storing Saint Vitus's relics. Paracelsus coined the term chorea Sancti Viti and recognized different forms of chorea (imaginativa, lasciva, and naturalis). In the 17th century, Thomas Sydenham provided an accurate description of what he termed chorea minor. He also described rheumatic fever but did not associate it with chorea. It was only in 1850 that See established a relationship between chorea and rheumatic disease. A connection with cardiac involvement was soon recognized and in 1866 Roger postulated that chorea, arthritis, and heart disease had a common cause. The last quarter of the 19th century is marked by the works of Jean-Martin Charcot, Silas Weir Mitchell, William Osler, and William Richard Gowers, all of paramount importance in the refinement of the definition of chorea, its causes, and differential diagnosis. In 1841, Charles Oscar Waters gave a concise account of a syndrome, likely to be Huntington's disease (HD), later described further by George Huntington and named after him. In 1955, the Venezuelan physician Americo Negrette published a book describing communities in the State of Zulia in Venezuela, with unusual numbers of individuals with chorea. Negrette's works culminated in the creation of the Venezuela project and the subsequent discovery of seminal findings in HD. We review the historical facts and outstanding physicians that mark both HD and Sydenham's chorea's history in various sections.

Severe Sydenham's chorea (chorea paralytica) successfully treated with plasmapheresis

Sydenham’s chorea is often regarded as a relatively benign and self-limiting condition. Treatment is typically symptomatic, although occasionally immunomodulatory therapies are required in severe forms. Here we report a girl who was affected with the severe variant, chorea paralytica, who responded dramatically and rapidly to plasmapheresis, having failed other therapies.

Difficult diagnoses in hyperkinetic disorders - a focused review

Hyperkinesias are heterogeneous conditions that share the feature of production of involuntary, abnormal, excessive movements. Tremor, dystonia, and chorea are amongst the most common of these phenomena. In this focused review there is a discussion of difficult issues in hyperkinesias. The first one is the differential diagnosis between essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). They are readily distinguishable in the majority of patients but in a few subjects ET coexist with parkinsonian features whose underlying mechanism remains to be determined. The second topic of the review is dystonic tremor. Although increasingly diagnosed and reported as accounting for the majority of scans without evidence of dopaminergic deficits, its diagnostic criteria are ill-defined and differentiation from PD and ET can be challenging. In the last section, there is a discussion of the differential diagnosis of Sydenham’s chorea (SC), the most common cause of chorea in children. In a few patients, vascular disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, and primary antiphospholipid antibody syndrome can mimic SC.

Takayasu's Arteritis in a Patient with Sydenham's Chorea: is There an Association?

BACKGROUND

Takayasu's arteritis (TA) has been associated with many conditions. Herein described is a case of TA in a patient with rheumatic fever complicated with Sydenham's chorea.

CASE REPORT

A 17-year-old female presented at age 6 with rheumatic fever followed by chorea a month later. At the age of 16, she developed a blood pressure discrepancy between the arms and faint pulses. Computed tomography angiography revealed diffuse aortic involvement and narrowing of the arteries.

DISCUSSION

The presence of rheumatic fever and Sydenham's chorea in TA raises the possibility of an immunological basis for the pathogenesis of the disease.

An update on the treatment of Sydenham's chorea: the evidence for established and evolving interventions

Over 320 years after Thomas Sydenham described the condition labelled Sydenham's chorea, it remains poorly understood. The disorder is an antineuronal antibody-mediated neuropsychiatric disorder caused by a poststreptococcal, autoimmune condition affecting control of movement, mood, behaviour and potentially the heart. The treatment remains empirical, and is less than optimal. There are few large clinically controlled trials. Recommendations for optimal management remain inconsistent and are hampered by the side effects from pharmacotherapy. Care for patients should be targeted at primary treatment (penicillin and bed rest), secondary palliation (symptomatic medication) and supportive (social) care. Small studies have demonstrated trends to support the use of immunoglobulins and steroids as therapeutic interventions for children affected by Sydenham's chorea.