Dyskinesia refers to a category of
movement disorders that are characterized by involuntary muscle movements, including movements similar to
tics or
chorea and diminished voluntary movements. Dyskinesia can be anything from a slight tremor of the hands to an uncontrollable movement of the upper body or lower extremities. Discoordination can also occur internally especially with the respiratory muscles and it often goes unrecognized. Dyskinesia is a
symptom
Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormality showin ...
of several
medical disorders that are distinguished by their underlying cause.
Types
Medication-induced dyskinesias
Acute
dystonia
Dystonia is a neurological hyperkinetic movement disorder in which sustained or repetitive muscle contractions result in twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal fixed postures. The movements may resemble a tremor. Dystonia is often inten ...
is a sustained muscle contraction that sometimes appears soon after administration of
antipsychotic
Antipsychotics, also known as neuroleptics, are a class of psychotropic medication primarily used to manage psychosis (including delusions, hallucinations, paranoia or disordered thought), principally in schizophrenia but also in a range o ...
medications.
Any muscle in the body may be affected, including the jaw, tongue, throat, arms, or legs. When the throat muscles are involved, this type of dystonia is called an acute
laryngospasm and is a medical emergency because it can impair breathing.
Older antipsychotics such as
Haloperidol or
Fluphenazine are more likely to cause acute dystonia than newer agents. Giving high doses of antipsychotics by injection also increases the risk of developing acute dystonia.
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...
, other
amphetamines and
dopaminergic
Dopaminergic means "related to dopamine" (literally, "working on dopamine"), dopamine being a common neurotransmitter. Dopaminergic substances or actions increase dopamine-related activity in the brain. Dopaminergic brain pathways facilitate d ...
stimulants
Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that increase activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are pleasurable and inv ...
including
cocaine and
pemoline can produce
choreoathetoid
Choreoathetosis is the occurrence of involuntary movements in a combination of chorea (irregular migrating contractions) and athetosis (twisting and writhing).
It is caused by many different diseases and agents. It is a symptom of several diseases ...
dyskinesias; the prevalence, time-frame and
prognosis
Prognosis (Greek: πρόγνωσις "fore-knowing, foreseeing") is a medical term for predicting the likely or expected development of a disease, including whether the signs and symptoms will improve or worsen (and how quickly) or remain stabl ...
are not well established. Amphetamines also cause a dramatic increase in choreoathetoid symptoms in patients with underlying
chorea such as
Sydenham's,
Huntington's
Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is a neurodegenerative disease that is mostly inherited. The earliest symptoms are often subtle problems with mood or mental abilities. A general lack of coordination and an unst ...
, and
Lupus
Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Comm ...
. Long-term use of amphetamines may increase the risk of
Parkinson's disease (PD): in one
retrospective study with over 40,000 participants it was concluded that amphetamine abusers generally had a 200% higher chance of developing PD versus those with no history of abuse; the risk was much higher in women, almost 400%. There remains some controversy as of 2017.
Levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) is evident in patients with Parkinson's disease who have been on
levodopa
-DOPA, also known as levodopa and -3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, is an amino acid that is made and used as part of the normal biology of some plants and animals, including humans. Humans, as well as a portion of the other animals that utilize -DOPA ...
() for prolonged periods of time. LID commonly first appears in the foot, on the most affected side of the body. There are three main types that can be classified on the basis of their course and clinical presentation following an oral dose of :
* Off-period dystonia – correlated to the
akinesia that occurs before the full effect of sets in, when the plasma levels of are low. In general, it occurs as painful spasms in the foot. Patients respond to therapy.
[
* Diphasic dyskinesia – occurs when ]plasma
Plasma or plasm may refer to:
Science
* Plasma (physics), one of the four fundamental states of matter
* Plasma (mineral), a green translucent silica mineral
* Quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter in quantum chromodynamics
Biology
* Blood pla ...
L-DOPA levels are rising or falling. This form occurs primarily in the lower limbs (though they can happen elsewhere) and is usually dystonic (characterized by apparent rigidity within muscles or groups thereof) or ballistic (characterized by involuntary movement of muscles) and will not respond to dosage reductions.[
* Peak-dose dyskinesia – the most common form of levodopa-induced dyskinesia; it correlates with the plateau plasma level. This type usually involves the upper limbs more (but could also affect the head, trunk and respiratory muscles), is choreic (of chorea), and less disabling. Patients will respond to reduction but may be accompanied by deterioration of parkinsonism.][ Peak-dose L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia has been suggested to be associated with cortical dysregulation of dopamine signaling.]
Chronic or tardive
Late-onset dyskinesia, also known as tardive dyskinesia, occurs after long-term treatment with an antipsychotic
Antipsychotics, also known as neuroleptics, are a class of psychotropic medication primarily used to manage psychosis (including delusions, hallucinations, paranoia or disordered thought), principally in schizophrenia but also in a range o ...
drug such as haloperidol (Haldol) or amoxapine (Asendin). The symptoms include tremors and writhing movements of the body and limbs, and abnormal movements in the face, mouth, and tongue including involuntary lip smacking, repetitive pouting of the lips, and tongue protrusions.
Rabbit syndrome is another type of chronic dyskinesia, while orofacial dyskinesia may be related to persistent replication of Herpes simplex virus type 1
Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), also known by their taxonomical names ''Human alphaherpesvirus 1'' and ''Human alphaherpesvirus 2'', are two members of the human ''Herpesviridae'' family, a set of viruses that produce viral infe ...
.
Non-motor
Two other types, primary ciliary dyskinesia and biliary dyskinesia
Biliary dyskinesia is a disorder of some component of biliary part of the digestive system in which bile cannot physically move in the proper direction through the tubular biliary tract. It most commonly involves abnormal biliary tract peristalsis ...
, are caused by specific kinds of ineffective movement of the body, and are not movement disorders.
See also
* Akathisia
* Akinesia
* Dopamine
Dopamine (DA, a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells. It is an organic compound, organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. Dopamine const ...
* Hemiballismus
* Medication Management of Parkinson's disease
* Paroxysmal dyskinesia
* Psychosis
* Schizophrenia
* Serotonin
Serotonin () or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a monoamine neurotransmitter. Its biological function is complex and multifaceted, modulating mood, cognition, reward, learning, memory, and numerous physiological processes such as vomiting and vas ...
References
Works cited
*
External links
{{Nervous and musculoskeletal system symptoms and signs
Symptoms and signs: Nervous system
Parkinson's disease
Neurological disorders
Extrapyramidal and movement disorders