Clinical and imaging features of diabetic striatopathy: report of 6 cases and literature review

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and pathogenesis of diabetic striatopathy (DS) to improve the understanding of the disease and avoid misdiagnosis or underdiagnosis. METHODS: The clinical, laboratory, and imaging data of 6 patients (5 Asian females and 1 Asian male) with diabetic striatum were analyzed retrospectively, and the related literature was reviewed. RESULTS: All 6 patients showed hyperglycemia, 5 patients presented with involuntary movement of unilateral limbs, and 1 with unilateral limb numbness. Besides, 5 patients (except case 3) underwent MRI examinations that showed hyperintensity in unilateral caudate and lentiform nucleus on T1-weighted images. And all 6 patients who underwent brain CT examinations showed hyperdensity or isodensity in unilateral caudate and lentiform nucleus. None had a family history of similar abnormal movements. After blood glucose control and symptomatic support treatment, the symptoms of all patients improved to various degrees, and reexaminations showed that the lesions gradually disappeared. CONCLUSION: Diabetic striatal disease is a rare complication of diabetes mellitus, the result of a combination of different pathogenesis. It is characterized by hyperglycemia, hemichorea, and contralateral striatal T1WI hyperintensity or CT hyperdensity. Both ketosis and nonketotic hyperglycemic hemichorea have typical imaging manifestations. The prognosis is excellent when this disease is detected early, and the lesions can be gradually absorbed and dissipated with glycemic control.