Chorea as the First Sign in a Patient with Elderly-Onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Abstract EN

The case of an elderly patient who had chorea as an initial symptom of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) accompanied by antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is reported.

A 68-year-old woman suddenly developed chorea of her left arm and leg.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain demonstrated a focal lesion in the right caudate head, which showed hyperintensity on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery and diffusion-weighted imaging.

This condition was thought to be a common form of vascular chorea, which is likely to occur in elderly individuals; however, the laboratory data of this patient finally fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of SLE and APS.

Physicians should be careful in diagnosing elderly individuals simply as having a vascular chorea because this symptom can be the initial manifestation of SLE or APS.