Chorea Associated With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Report of Two Cases and Review of the Literature

Abstract

It is well recognized that systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) masquerades as various other illnesses including neurologic disorders.¹ Neurologic manifestations of SLE include seizures, organic brain syndromes (psychoses), aseptic meningitis, and a variety of focal neurologic syndromes, of which chorea is one example. Although chorea is reportedly a rare sign of CNS involvement in lupus, recent experience, such as the two cases reported here, suggests that it is more common than previously suspected, particularly in children. In 1975 Lusins and Szilagyi reviewed the cases of 28 patients with chorea associated with SLE.² The majority of these patients were female, none were related to each other, and the youngest was 9 years old at the onset of lupus.