Nonketotic Hyperglycemic Chorea

This is a unique case of nonketotic hyperglycemic (NKH) chorea in a 34-year-old white male. The patient had a poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) due to medication incompliance. He complained of polyuria, polydipsia, and weight loss of 20 pounds within a month before presentation. T2-weighted (T2W) MRI showed hyperintensity in the left basal ganglion. Glycated hemoglobin (HBA1c) was 13.6%. The patient was started on insulin and clonazepam and the chorea resolved after proper control of the glucose level. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of NKH chorea in a young white male with high T2-weighted (T2W) magnetic resonance signal in the basal ganglia.

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