Perspectives on Psychiatric Features of Sydenham Chorea.

Authors

Lisa Mendelman, Russell C Dale, Katherine Mackenzie, J Michael Bostwick, Ellen R Wald, Terence Sanger, Kate Miles, Sarah Kendell, Mark S Pasternack, Jennifer Frankovich

Published in

Pediatrics. Sep 16, 2026. Epub Sep 16, 2026.

Abstract

Sydenham chorea (SC) has been conventionally recognized as a movement disorder that occurs in 10%-50% of pediatric patients with acute rheumatic fever. In this article, we review the research on SC's psychiatric aspects and detail how physicians writing in English have grappled with questions of SC's psychological and somatic etiology and symptoms over the past 150 years. We demonstrate that the current neuropsychiatric understanding of SC in Anglophone contexts is the result of decades of scientific dialogue, with its mental, emotional, and behavioral symptoms now identified as a feature of organic pathology. This examination provides a valuable perspective on the challenges of interpreting and understanding the central nervous system manifestations of autoimmune illness caused by Group A Streptococcus.

PMID:
42744321
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 16 Sep 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.