1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-10-61-b 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-10-8-8 Attention Deficit and Learning Disorders Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Stimulant Therapy for Benign Chorea and ADHD http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 08 1996 01 06 2016 10 8 61 62 Copyright: © 1996 The Author(s) 1996 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Benign hereditary chorea improved on stimulant therapy

A 6-year-old boy with benign familial chorea diagnosed at 1 year and ADHD evaluated and treated with methylphenidate (MPH) at 6 years is reported from the Department of Pediatrics, David Grant Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base, California.

 Benign Familial Chorea Methylphenidate Motor Abilities

A 6-year-old boy with benign familial chorea diagnosed at 1 year and ADHD evaluated and treated with methylphenidate (MPH) at 6 years is reported from the Department of Pediatrics, David Grant Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base, California. After MPH beginning with 2.5 mg BD and gradually increasing to 7.5 mg BD, his attention span, self-control, handwriting, and school performance were benefited as expected, but in addition, the chorea improved and his independent walking skills developed. On drug holidays, the chorea and gait problems regressed. [1]

COMMENT. The author suggests that chorea complicating ADHD should not contraindicate a cautious trial of stimulant medication. If methylphenidate improves a child’s performance in school and lessens stressful situations, it may also result in a reduction in chorea and improved motor abilities.

Friederich RL Benign hereditary chorea improved on stimulant therapy Pediatr Neurol 1996 May 14 4 326 327 10.1016/0887-8994(96)00056-2 8962590