Movement disorders
Movement disorders In Nagpur include conditions causing movement to be other than normal, whether increased (such as spasms or jerking) or decreased.
They can interfere with voluntary movements or induce involuntary movements. Coordination between the central nervous system, motor nerves, and skeletal muscles is integral to movement, and damage or dysfunction leads to these conditions. Accordingly, varieties range from mildly localized impacts to widespread effects on mobility. Once, they could even interrupt tasks as simple as writing or hinder walking abilities.
Types of movement disorders
Summary
- Ataxia: Because, Affects coordinated movement due to multiple causes like genetic or infections.
- Cervical dystonia: Therefore, Causing involuntary contractions of neck muscle leading to movement of the head.
- Chorea: Characterized by rapid, irregular, involuntary movements of various body parts.
- Dystonia: Involves sustained contractions of muscles to result in twisting movements; it may be limited to certain parts or present throughout the body.
- Functional movement disorder: A potentially treatable condition that shares features with other movement disorders but results from no neurological disease.
- Parkinsonism: General term for one of several symptoms or conditions involving movement slowness, stiffness, tremors, or loss of balance and, with widely varying causes, including a group of diseases called the parkinsonian syndromes.
- Progressive supranuclear palsy: Rare disorder affecting walking, balance, and eye movements.
- Restless legs syndrome: Unpleasant sensations in the legs which are relieved by movement.
- Tardive dyskinesia: Sustained repetitive, involuntary movements caused by long-term use of neuroleptic drugs.
- Tourette syndrome: Childhood onset condition characterized by repetitive movements and vocal sounds.
- Tremor: Characterized by rhythmic shaking of body parts, particularly of hands.
- Wilson’s disease: Inherited condition that causes excessive deposition of copper in the body and can result in neurological signs, such as dystonic movements, tremors, or ataxia.
Common Types of Movement Disorders:
1. Parkinson’s Disease
- Symptoms: Tremors at rest, muscle stiffness (rigidity), slowness of movement (bradykinesia), and postural instability.
- Cause: Loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain.
- Treatment: Medications like levodopa, dopamine agonists, and deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery.
2. Essential Tremor
- Symptoms: Involuntary, rhythmic shaking, often affecting the hands, head, voice, or legs, especially during movement.
- Cause: Unknown, but often runs in families (genetic predisposition).
- Treatment: Beta-blockers, anticonvulsants, and in severe cases, DBS.
3. Dystonia
- Symptoms: Sustained or intermittent muscle contractions causing abnormal, often repetitive movements or postures.
- Types: Can be focal (affecting one area, like writer’s cramp), segmental (affecting adjacent body areas), or generalized.
- Cause: Abnormal brain signaling, sometimes genetic or due to injury.
- Treatment: Muscle relaxants, botulinum toxin (Botox) injections, and DBS.
4. Huntington’s Disease
- Symptoms: Uncontrolled, jerky movements (chorea), along with cognitive decline and psychiatric issues.
- Cause: Genetic mutation causing degeneration of nerve cells in the brain.
- Treatment: Medications to manage symptoms, but no cure. Genetic counseling is important.
5. Tourette Syndrome
- Symptoms: Repetitive, involuntary movements or vocalizations called tics (e.g., blinking, facial grimacing, grunting).
- Cause: Unknown, though genetics and environmental factors play a role.
- Treatment: Medications to reduce tics, behavioral therapy, and supportive care.
6. Ataxia
- Symptoms: Lack of muscle coordination during voluntary movements, leading to unsteady walking, poor hand coordination, and difficulty with speech and swallowing.
- Cause: Can be genetic (spinocerebellar ataxias) or acquired due to stroke, tumors, alcohol abuse, or vitamin deficiencies.
- Treatment: Symptom management, physical therapy, and sometimes surgery for underlying causes like tumors.
7. Tardive Dyskinesia
- Symptoms: Involuntary, repetitive movements such as lip-smacking, tongue movements, or grimacing, often due to long-term use of antipsychotic medications.
- Cause: Side effect of certain drugs, particularly antipsychotics.
- Treatment: Discontinuing or switching medications, and drugs like valbenazine or deutetrabenazine.
8. Cerebral Palsy
- Symptoms: Movement difficulties, including spasticity (muscle stiffness), abnormal gait, and poor balance, often present from birth or early childhood.
- Cause: Damage to the developing brain, often due to the birth complications or prenatal injury.
- Treatment: Physical therapy, medications to reduce spasticity, and sometimes surgery.
9. Multiple System Atrophy (MSA)
- Symptoms: Similar to Parkinson’s, with additional autonomic dysfunction (like blood pressure regulation issues) and poor coordination.
- Cause: Degenerative neurological disorder affecting multiple brain systems.
- Treatment: Supportive care and medications to manage symptoms, but no cure.
Diagnosis of Movement Disorders:
- Neurological Exam: Assessing movement patterns, reflexes, and coordination.
- Imaging: MRI and CT scans to detect structural abnormalities in the brain.
- Genetic Testing: For conditions like Huntington’s disease or inherited ataxias.
- Electromyography (EMG): Measures muscle response to nervous system signals.
Treatment Options:
- Medications: To regulate neurotransmitter levels (e.g., dopamine for Parkinson’s disease) or to control muscle spasms and abnormal movements.
- Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS): Surgical implantation of electrodes to stimulate specific brain regions (often used for Parkinson’s and dystonia).
- Physical and Occupational Therapy: To improve muscle control, balance, and coordination.
- Botulinum Toxin Injections (Botox): Used to relax muscles in conditions like dystonia and spasticity.
- Supportive Care: Psychological support, speech therapy, and lifestyle adaptations for progressive conditions like Huntington’s disease or ALS.
How are movement disorders treated?
Therefore, Treatment for instance movement disorders includes symptoms management since most of the diseases have no cure. Thus, Treatments include medication administration, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, mobility appliances, speech therapy, psychotherapy, Injections of Botox® for instance relaxation of muscles, deep brain stimulation surgical procedure in advanced conditions and enroll in clinical trials for instance new treatment. It aims at enhancing the daily functioning and quality of life for the patient.
How are movement disorders diagnosed?
Such movement disorders can be diagnosed with the following tests, once a history and neurological examination has been done:
- Blood tests can be done to diagnose specific disorders or eliminate other causes of such movements.
- Electromyography (EMG) is a test that evaluates the muscle and nerve condition.
- An electroencephalogram (EEG) tests brain activity.
- A lumbar puncture is performed to evaluate cerebrospinal fluid.
- A muscle biopsy can separate nerve from muscle conditions.
- A nerve conduction study tests nerve function.
- Imaging tests Similar to CT or MRI to examine the brain, spinal cord, or nerves.
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