Athetosis is ... A description of the disease, symptoms, causes, treatment methods

Athetosis is a symptom of damage to the subcortical node of the brain and central nervous system, and not an independent disease. Pathology is very rare and can be found in children and adults of different sexes and ages.

Athetosis is a pathological involuntary muscle movement that occurs mainly on the face, limbs and trunk. It is worth noting that athetosis manifests itself mainly in the hands and fingers, on the legs the manifestation of pathology occurs much less frequently.

Varieties

Depending on where the pathology is localized, and the nature of the movements, several types of athetosis are distinguished:

1. Hemiathetosis is a one-sided athetosis, can be both right-sided and left-sided.
2. Generalized athetosis - both sides of the body are affected, while the pathology spreads to all muscles. Speech with this type of athetosis is severely impaired.
3. Choreoathetosis - this variety includes signs of chorea and athetosis. Atetoidal involuntary movements that are performed at a high speed specific to chorea are characteristic of this.
4. Athetoid dystonia is a common muscle hyperkinesis that can be combined with a prolonged phase of muscle contractions.

Classification

Athetosis is a pathology that can be divided into two types: unilateral and bilateral.

1. For unilateral athetosis, a manifestation is only on one side of the body. In this case, the onset of signs of the disease is directly related to violations in the extrapyramidal system, which is responsible for normalizing muscle tone and automating the patient’s motor skills. IMPORTANT: the main feature of unilateral athetosis is that pathology develops on the opposite side from the one in which the lesion of the central nervous system was localized.
2. With bilateral hyperkinesis, tremor and athetosis are characteristic manifestations of the disease, which in most cases affect the entire body, significantly complicating the lives of patients. This type of pathology occurs when the patient’s brain is very affected. Sometimes the pathology is congenital and is associated with genetic abnormalities of the body.

Causes

In most cases, athetosis is a symptom of damage to the basal ganglia. The main cause of the pathology is hereditary. Pathological disorders occur for the following reasons:

1. Lesions of the liver, subcortical nuclei of the brain, as well as impaired copper metabolism in the body, which is typical for Wilson-Konovalov disease.
2. Extrapyramidal atrophy, which is characterized by dystonia, cerebellar ataxia and choreoathetosis.
3. Huntington's chorea, manifested by a violation of the functions of the motor apparatus.
4. Rarely, but the development of athetosis is possible against the background of damage to the structures of the central nervous system during injuries, in the presence and growth of a tumor.
5. In children, the main causes of the development of athetosis are encephalopathy and encephalitis.
6. Double athetosis develops against hypoxia during pregnancy or during childbirth, with brain injuries during childbirth.

Symptoms

Athetosis is a pathology that manifests itself on the facial muscles, as well as on the hands and fingers. With athetosis, signs of pathology can be observed, such as:

1. Convulsions of the facial nerves, in which the face becomes like a grimace.
2. Violation of the tone of the tongue - it is relaxed and stick out.
3. Speech becomes slurred.
4. Trembling limbs. Involuntary worm-like flexion and extension of the fingers, outwardly, it resembles chaotic creeping movements that a person can not control.
5. Congenital athetosis in children becomes noticeable from the first days, by the end of the first year of life, manifestations of pathology become already pronounced. Such children start to sit, walk, talk late, and speech is illegible and dysarthritic.

If the patient is in a bad mood or is trying to control the signs of the disease, then the symptoms only intensify. When a person is at rest or sleeping, then no signs of hyperkinesis are observed.

For double athetosis, the following symptoms are characteristic:

1. Muscle hypotension, in which the patient does not have the ability to control the movements of the limbs and keep his head in a straight position.
2. Problems with swallowing, constantly sticking out tongue, grimaces on the face and impaired speech.
3. During walking, the patient's feet are in the wrong position. With double athetosis, the patient during this can involuntarily make turns by the neck and the whole body.

Diagnostics

Athetoid hyperkinesis can be diagnosed with a routine examination, further diagnosis is carried out in order to identify the disease that caused the development of athetosis, for this the doctor uses the following methods:

1. A medical history, which takes into account the patient’s complaints about the initial manifestation of hyperkinesis, information on hereditary pathologies of relatives and friends, as well as the presence of congenital pathology, when it comes to a newborn child.
2. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain.
3. Computed tomography of the brain.
4. A biochemical analysis of blood and urine helps to establish whether it is a hereditary pathology or not.
5. Differential diagnosis helps to separate athetosis from torsion dystonia, small chorea and pseudo-aethetosis.

Treatment

The treatment of athetosis must be carried out in conjunction with the treatment of the underlying disease, which caused the pathology.

Therapy, first of all, should be aimed at eliminating involuntary movements in one or a group of muscles. Effective in this case are the following types of drugs:

1. Cholinolytics, which act directly on the central nervous system, at the same time reduce muscle tone and help get rid of hyperkinesis. One of the most effective drugs in this group is a drug like Spazmolitin.
2. Antipsychotics, which reduce psychomotor agitation and reduce the number of movements that are performed involuntarily. Such drugs include Haloperidol and Risperidone.
3. Benzodiazepines have an anticonvulsant effect, which allows you to normalize muscle tone and reduce the number of involuntary movements. A good result can be achieved by using a drug belonging to the benzodiazepine group, like Diazepam.
4. Group B vitamins and exercise therapy help maintain motor skills.
5. A good effect can be achieved by using groups of medicines, which are based on levodopa - "L-Dopa."
6. When violations of motor functions are pronounced, and drug therapy and physiotherapy exercises do not bring the proper result, then surgical intervention performed by neurosurgery is possible. With such an intervention, the effect is directly on the subcortical nuclei.

Forecast

A favorable prognosis of athetosis depends on the underlying pathology, so people who get sick in early childhood can live to a very old age. If the disease is hereditary and proceeds in a progressive form, in which degenerative disorders in the central nervous system begin to occur, then the prognosis in this case is unfavorable. Double athetosis can proceed stably for a long time, with age, a partial restoration of motor functions is possible.

Prevention

Prevention of pathology includes measures thanks to which all provoking factors can be prevented: adequate pregnancy and childbirth without complications, timely treatment of all brain disorders and brain infections.

Athetosis is a severe pathology, manifested by impaired motor functions, which can lead to disability of the patient. Early diagnosis, timely treatment and the mandatory implementation of exercises included in the complex of physiotherapy exercises will help to avoid serious complications and ease the course of the disease.