[Transient involuntary movement disorders and thalamic infarction].

Stroke-related nonepileptic transient dyskinesias are rare, and the site of ischemia remains often undetermined. Five cases out of 47 consecutive thalamic infarcts (10.6 per cent) are reported. Patients presented with monochorea (1 case), hemiballism-hemichorea (2 cases), choreoathetosis (1 case with subsequent arm painful dystonia and hand tremor), and asterixis (1 case). Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated that the subthalamic nucleus was spared in all cases. Transient dyskinesias occurred at any time in the course of infarction (as a warning sign in 1 case, as an associated symptom in 3 cases, or during recovery in 1 case). Moreover, this study suggests that: 1) transient dyskinesias are mainly related to thalamic ischemic injury, and 2) small vessels disease is the main etiology.