Myoclonus
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Clinic
- Myoclonus is a brief, involuntary, irregular (lacking rhythm) twitching of a muscle or a group of muscles
- It is an entity belongs to Hyperkinetic movement disorders
Types
- Positive myoclonus: Sudden muscle contractions
- Negative myoclonus: Brief lapses of contraction
- Hypnic jerk: The most common circumstance under which they occur is while falling asleep. It occur in healthy persons and are experienced occasionally by everyone. However, when they appear with more persistence and become more widespread they can be a sign of various neurological disorders.
- Stimulus-sensitive myoclonus: It is triggered by a variety of external events, including noise, movement, and light.
- Sleep myoclonus occurs during the initial phases of sleep, esp at falling sleep. Some forms appear to be stimulus-sensitive. Some persons with sleep myoclonus are rarely troubled by, or need treatment for, the condition. However, myoclonus may be a symptom in more complex and disturbing sleep disorders, such as restless legs syndrome.
- Hiccups are a kind of myoclonic jerk specifically affecting the diaphragm.
- Provoked spasm: When a spasm is caused by another person it is known as a provoked spasm. Shuddering attacks in babies fall in this category.
- Essential myoclonus: It occurs in the absence of epilepsy or other apparent abnormalities in the brain or nerves. It is not increasing in severity over time.
Related disease
- Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) usually consists of jerking and muscle twitches of the upper extremities. JME is among the most common types of epilepsy and can affect one of every 14 people with the disease. These seizures typically occur shortly after waking up. Onset for JME can be seen around puberty for most patients.
- Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), or childhood epileptic encephalopathy, is a rare epileptic disorder accounting for 1–4% of childhood epilepsies. The syndrome has much more severe symptoms ranging from multiple seizures daily, learning disabilities, abnormal findings in electroencephalogram (EEG). Earlier age of seizure onset is correlated with higher risk of cognitive impairment.
- Progressive myoclonus epilepsy (PME) is a group of diseases characterized by myoclonus, epileptic seizures, tonic-clonic seizures, and other serious symptoms such as trouble walking or speaking.
- Reticular reflex myoclonus is thought to be a type of generalized epilepsy that originates in the brainstem. Myoclonic jerks usually affect the whole body and sometimes locally
- Cortical reflex myoclonus is thought to be a type of epilepsy that originates in the cerebral cortex. In this type of myoclonus, jerks usually involve only a few muscles in one part of the body, but jerks involving many muscles may occur.
Other disease
- MS
- Parkinson's disease
- Dystoni
- Alzheimer's disease
- Gaucher's disease
- Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis
- Serotonin syndrome
- Huntington's disease
Related entities
- Clonus: Both are involuntary twitching but clonous is rhythmic and Myoclonous is irregular.
- Fasciculation
Miasms
Clinic
- Myoclonus is a brief, involuntary, irregular (lacking rhythm) twitching of a muscle or a group of muscles
Related entities
Clonus: It is rhythmic or regular.
Fasciculation: It
Two types
- Positive myoclonus = Sudden muscle contractions
- Negative myoclonus = Brief lapses of contraction
Note:
- Hypnic jerk is the most common Myoclonus, which occur while falling asleep
- Myoclonic jerks occur in healthy people, however, when they appear frequently or generally, they can be a sign of various neurological disorders.
- Hiccup is a kind of myoclonic jerk affecting diaphragm. When a spasm is caused by another person it is known as a provoked spasm. Shuddering attacks in babies fall in this category.
Related disease
- MS
- Parkinson's disease,
- Dystonia,
- Cerebral palsy,
- Alzheimer's disease,
- Gaucher's disease,
- Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis
- Serotonin toxicity
- Huntington's disease
- Epilepsy
- Intracranial hypotension