Chorea gravidarum. Report of a fatal case with neuropathological observations
K. Ichikawa, R. C. Kim, H. Givelber and G. H. Collins
In a 23-year-old primigravida with no prior history of rheumatic fever,
choreiform movements developed late in the third trimester, and she died in
a state of hyperthermia 14 days later. Results of neuropathological
examination showed, as the basis for the chorea, nerve cell loss and
astrocytosis within the striatum (especially the caudate nucleus). Anaylsis
of the case in conjunction with a review of the literature strongly
suggests that chorea gravidarum should be regarded as a syndrome rather
than a specific disease entity.