What is a movement disorder?
Movement disorder is defined as an abnormality in the form and velocity of movements of the body. These disorders are a group of nervous system (neurological) conditions that cause either increased movements or reduced or slow movements which may be voluntary or involuntary.
What are the common types of movement disorders?
| Movement disorder | Affected body part | Characteristics |
| Ataxia | Brain | Uncoordinated balance, speech, or limb movements. Degenerative disorders, infection, etc., may be the causes. |
| Dystonia | The entire body or any part | Sustained involuntary muscle contractions |
| Chorea | Face, mouth, trunk, and limbs | Repetitive, brief, irregular, rapid, involuntary movements |
| Cervical Dystonia | Neck | Sustained involuntary muscle contractions cause the head to pull to one side or to shake back and forth. |
| Functional movement disorder | Any movement disorder | Due to neurological disease and is treatable |
| Huntington’s disease | Genetic disorder | Uncontrolled movements, cognitive problems, and psychiatric conditions. |
| Parkinson’s disease | Muscle | A slowly progressive disease characterized by tremors, muscle stiffness, slow movement, imbalance, constipation, and the decline in cognition. |
| Parkinsonism | Muscle | Slow movement and stiffness due to Parkinson’s disease or dopamine-blocking medications, multiple system atrophy, stroke, or repeated traumatic brain injury |
| Multiple system atrophy | Brain systems, low B.P., impaired bladder function | An uncommon neurological disorder that causes ataxia or parkinsonism |
| Myoclonus | Muscle | Lightning quick jerks |
| Progressive supranuclear palsy | Eye | A rare neurological disorder that affects walking, balance, and eye movements. |
| Restless legs syndrome | Legs | Unpleasant sensation in legs while relaxing or lying down which is relieved during movement |
| Tardive dyskinesia | Eye | Due to the long-term use of neuroleptic drugs for psychiatric illnesses. Repetitive, involuntary movements such as eye blinking are characteristics. |
| Tourette syndrome | Repetitive movements and vocal sounds are generally seen in individuals of age groups between childhood and teens | |
| Tremor | Hands, head or other body parts | Rhythmic shaking of body parts. |
| Wilson’s disease | Genetic disorder | Excess amounts of copper build up in the body, causing various kinds of neurological problems such as dystonia, tremor, parkinsonism, or ataxia. |
| Lewy body dementia | brain | Depletion of neurotransmitters such as dopamine (controls muscle movement) and acetylcholine (responsible for memory, thinking, and processing). The patient suffers from fluctuating alertness, visual hallucinations, and Parkinsons-like movement issues. |
| Blepharospasm | Eyelid | Uncontrollable spasms of both eyelids |
| Hemifacial spasm | Eyelid and lower face | Involuntary spasms of the eyelid and lower face on one side. |
What are the available treatments for these movement disorders?
| Movement disorder | Treatment |
| Ataxia of Parkinsonism | Use of oral L-Dopa. Other medications include Amantadine, selegiline, and entacapone. |
| Dystonia | Three-tiered approach – Botulinum toxin, medications, and surgery |
| Essential tremor | Beta-blockers in young patients, anti-seizure medications, benzodiazepines. In case of severe tremors, thalamotomy and deep brain stimulation are the surgical options. |
| Huntington’s disease | The treatment focus is on reducing symptoms and preventing complications with the help of antidepressants, tranquilizers, mood-stabilizers, and Botox injections. |
| Multiple system atrophy | L-Dopa and Dopamine agonists |
| Myoclonus | Barbiturates, phenytoin, primidone, sodium valproate, clonazepam |
| Parkinson’s disease | Dopamine agonists, anticholinergics, thalamotomy, deep brain stimulation |
| Tardive dyskinesia | Antipsychotics |
| Wilson’s disease | Removing excess copper with the help of zinc acetate, trientine, and penicillamine. Lifelong treatment with refrainment of copper-rich foods such as organ meats, shellfish, fish, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and chocolate. |
Conclusion
Since movement disorders are due to neurological disruption that involves motor dysfunction or motor abnormalities or neuro-muscular coordination problems. Many of these disorders take time (sometimes lifelong) to get cured or are sometimes difficult to cure as in genetic movement disorders.
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