Guide To The Types Of Chorea

Athetosis

Athetosis is a variant of chorea where an individual exhibits involuntary writhing movements that can be rolling, slow, and continuous. Athetosis can be caused by several different factors, including diseases that cause damage to the basal ganglia, difficulties during the birth process, jaundice, cerebral palsy, drug toxicity, stroke, and trauma. The most common areas of the body affected by athetosis include the arms, feet, and hands. A patient experiences symptoms in the same part of the body repeatedly. Patients are often unable to maintain a stable and normal posture and experience worsening symptoms when they attempt to control this movement. A common feature of athetosis is referred to as muscle overflow. Muscle overflow is a phenomenon where an individual attempts to control one muscle group or muscle and then has uncontrolled movement in a different muscle group. A physical examination, blood tests, gross motor function tests, MRI scans, and other brain imaging tests are used to make a diagnosis of athetosis.

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