HEMIBALLISMUS IN SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS - POSSIBLE ASSOCIATION WITH ANTIPHOSPHOLIPID ANTIBODIES

The neuropsychiatric manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (S LE) are diverse but, among them, movement disorders are distinctly unc ommon. We describe a 30-year-old female with SLE who developed sudden onset of right-sided hemiballismus. Previous cerebral venous thrombosi s and a poor obstetric history suggested the antiphospholipid syndrome but only minimally elevated levels of anticardiolipin antibodies were detected. The underlying pathology could not be established but was m ost likely to have been a microinfarct of the contralateral subthalami c nucleus. Our patient responded rapidly to haloperidol alone without the requirement for corticosteroids.