OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has paroxysmal dyskinesia? What are the typical findings for this disease? Paroxysmal dyskinesias are a class of episodic hyperkinetic movement disorders. These movements can include chorea, athetosis or dystonia, and can occur in combination. Chorea is rapid, random, continuous, irregular, nonstereotyped and involuntary…
OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has Sydenham chorea? What are the typical findings for this disease? Generalized chorea (hemichorea in about 20%) Motor impersistence (tongue darting, milkmaid, and pronator signs); hypometric saccades Neuropsychiatric signs (emotional lability, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, anxiety, inattention) often precede the chorea. Reduced muscle tone, tics,…
OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has essential tremor? What are the typical findings for this disease? Tremor is a rhythmic and symmetrical oscillation of one or more body parts about a fixed point, axis, or plane. Tremors can be classified by the evoking event: Continue Reading Rest tremor…
OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has essential myoclonus? What are the typical findings for this disease? Myoclonus is an involuntary, sudden, shock-like, and brief contraction of a muscle or group of muscles. It can occur repetitively but is usually not rhythmic. Myoclonus can be induced by movement (action…
OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has Tourette syndrome? What are the typical findings for this disease? Tourette syndrome (TS) consists of motor tics and phonic tics. Comorbid problems include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, anxiety, episodic outbursts, academic problems, self-injurious behaviors, and executive dysfunction.…
OVERVIEW: What every practitioner needs to know Are you sure your patient has DOPA-responsive dystonia? What are the typical findings for this disease? Dystonia is the simultaneous sustained contraction of agonist and antagonist muscles. Affected limbs can take distorted or painful postures. A balanced contracture produces a fixed posture, whereas one that is unbalanced causes…
