What Is Dyskinesia?
Dyskinesia is a term used to describe a neurological disorder. A person with dyskinesia typically has trouble making voluntary muscle movements and makes involuntary movements with no control over them. It is usually easy to recognize these involuntary movements, or tics, in people that have Parkinson’s Disease, such as boxer Muhammed Ali and American actor Michael J. Fox. There are five main types of dykinesia — tardive, tremor, dystonia, chorea and myclonus.
Tardive dykinesia generally occurs late in life. It can be a side effect of certain antipsychotic medications, particularly trifluoperazine, haloperidol, metoclopramide and fluphenazine. The disorder usually presents itself in a patient's face. Symptoms may include grimacing, chewing, abnormal tongue movement and swinging of the jaw. Sometimes the dykinesia becomes permanent, even if the affected person stops taking the drug causing it. The longer someone takes medications of this kind, the more likely this can be.
Tremor dykinesia usually presents itself as trembling, usually in the legs, hands, head, trunk or voice. This shaking is typically more noticeable when a person stretches his or her limbs, such as to emphasize a point or to greet another person. This type often starts in a person’s dominant hand and steadily becomes worse over time.
In most cases, the main symptom of dystonia dyskinesia is involuntary muscle contractions. People with dystonia generally appear to twist and distort their limbs, moving them wildly. This disorder can be traced to abnormal function in the brain's cerebral cortex. It is often genetic.
Chorea dyskinesia, which is named after the Greek word for dance, is usually characterized by jerky body movements. Since an affected person's body often repeats these moves several times in a sequence, it can be compared to dance steps, especially if the chorea occurs in the legs or feet. These movements are generally concentrated in a patient’s upper body, face, arms and legs. Sometimes a person with chorea gives the appearance of being impatient or fidgety.
Those with myoclonus dyskinesia typically suffer brief but intense spasms of involuntary movement. Seizures are often considered a form of myoclonus dykinesia. There are many causes of this type of the disease, including brain injury, stroke, shock, epilepsy and poisoning. It can affect almost any part of the body, and even the entire body at the same time.
Dyskinesia treatments vary greatly, since it is usually a symptom of another disorder. In the case of tardive dyskinesia, the main treatment is to simply discontinue the medication that caused it. In the case of the other types, a combination of surgery and brain-altering medications can prove to be somewhat effective.
Written by Kathy R
