Two case reports of chorea-acanthocytosis and review of literature

BACKGROUND: Chorea-acanthocytosis (ChAc), as the most common subtype of neuroacanthocytosis syndrome, is characterized by the presence of acanthocytes and neurological symptoms. It is thought to be caused by the VPS13A (vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 13A) mutations. This article reports two confirmed cases of ChAc and summarizes some suggestive features, which provide direction for the diagnosis and treatment of acanthocytosis in the future. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we present two cases of ChAc diagnosed based on typical clinical symptoms, neuroimaging features, genetic findings of VPS13A, and response to the symptomatic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Chorea-acanthocytosis is a rare neurodegenerative disease with various early clinical manifestations. The final diagnosis of the ChAc can be established by either genetic analysis or protein expression by Western blotting. Supportive treatments and nursing are helpful to improve the quality of the patient’s life. Nevertheless, it is imperative to investigate the impact of neuroimaging and neuropathological diagnosis in a larger group of ChAc in future studies.