Its cause is damage to the contralateral subthalamic nuclei.
The commonest cause is stroke.
Treatment:
- hemiballismus generally resolves spontaneously in 4 to 8 weeks
- haloperidol (a dopamine blocker) may be used
- tetrabenazine (a VMAT inhibitor) may be used
Bilateral hemiballismus is rare and tends to be associated with HONK.
After that brief battle onwards to the meatier topic of prolactin
