Worsening Choreoathetosis in Huntington’s Disease with Fluoxetine, Lisdexamfetamine, and Melatonin: A Case Report

Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience

Clayton J. Hamilton¹  Robert C. Munjal²  Fern³  Tysen K. Timmer⁴ 

[1] Dr. Hamilton is with the Department of Pharmacy, Veterans Affairs Montana Medical Center-Fort Harrison, in Helena, Montana.;Dr. Munjal is with the Department of Psychiatry, Providence St. Patrick Hospital, in Missoula, Montana.;Drs. Cardozo-Pelaez and McGrane are with the University of Montana, College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences, in Missoula, Montana.;Mr. Timmer is a third-year medical student at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, Washington.

关键词: Fluoxetine;    antidepressant;    psychostimulant;    amphetamine;    melatonin;    Huntington’;    s disease;    chorea;    dopamine;   

DOI  :  

学科分类：精神健康和精神病学

来源: Matrix Medical Communications, LLC

【 摘 要 】

Cognitive, affective, and sleep disturbances can be found in patients with Huntington’s disease (HD), and medications used to treat these HD-related sequela can also impact HD-related movement disorders. We present the case of a 52-year-old Caucasian man with previously undiagnosed HD who exhibited significant choreoathetoid movements that improved with discontinuation of fluoxetine and lisdexamfetamine upon hospital admission. Following diagnosis of HD through genetic testing, he was administered 5mg of oral melatonin on two consecutive evenings, which resulted in worsening choreoathetosis. We calculated Naranjo adverse event scores of 5, 5, and 2 for fluoxetine, lisdexamfetamine, and melatonin, respectively, based on our assessment, review of outpatient medical records, and available literature. We review the literature surrounding these possible adverse drug events and their mechanisms regarding dopaminergic modulation in early-middle stages of HD. Our report indicates that caution should be exercised when initiating psychostimulants, fluoxetine, and melatonin in patients with early-middle stage HD. Screening for HD might be warranted for patients who develop choreoathetosis after initiation of the aforementioned medications. We recommend ascertaining baseline level of chorea before initiating these medications in patients with known HD and closely monitoring for exacerbation during therapy.

【 授权许可】

Unknown