FAMILIAL PAROXYSMAL CHOREOATHETOSIS

Abstract

The following case represents what is believed to be a hitherto undescribed clinical syndrome. The characteristic features of the syndrome are the paroxysmal occurrence of the attacks and the rich familial background. The patient presenting this syndrome was studied intensively at the Neurological Institute of New York from Nov. 3, 1938 to Jan. 19, 1939. During this period he was seen by most of the members of the staff, none of whom had seen a similar condition. A careful and meticulous review of the literature failed to reveal a case of a comparable syndrome. <h3>REPORT OF A CASE</h3> The patient was a white man aged 23, a textile worker, whose chief complaint was "spells," which had had their onset in infancy. He described them as of two types—"large" and "small". By this terminology he differentiated the severity and the duration of the attacks. Both types were preceded by an aura