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Gordon J. Gilbert, MD

JAMA. 1975;233(6):535-536.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

THE CONTINUOUS involuntary flailing movements of hemiballismus have proved resistant to medical therapy. In 1959, Martin and McCaul¹ described effective surgical treatment by placement of a stereotactic lesion in the thalamic ventrolateral nucleus. Recently, Pearce² has reported from England the successful treatment of a case of hemiballismus with the drug tetrabenazine (Nitoman; available only in Britain). Neither tetrabenazine nor any comparable product is available in the United States. In certain cases of hemiballismus, the movement disorder will gradually subside spontaneously,³ but in many others it is unremitting and may be life-threatening to the elderly patient with limited cardiac reserve. In the case presently reported, treatment with haloperidol (Haldol) produced a prompt, marked, and sustained improvement in hemiballismus.

Report of a Case

A 79-year-old diabetic man had hemiballismus of the right extremities of three weeks' duration, which had markedly worsened over the ten days prior to admission. For several . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the departments of physiology and neurology, University of South Florida School of Medicine, Tampa.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to 500 Pasadena Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33707 (Dr. Gilbert).

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