Myoclonus

Myoclonus - what is it?

Myoclonus is an involuntary muscle contraction characterized by frequent and rhythmic short attacks. As a result of such attacks, trembling of the limbs, lips and other parts of the body is observed. With an abundant spread of the pathological process, pathological movements of a facial nature and facial muscles occur while maintaining muscle tone. Pathological movements may be accompanied by increased voluntary movements, which are also replaced by myoclonus. Over time, convulsive muscle movements lead to the fact that the patient cannot control muscle movement, as a result of which various hyperkinesis can be observed: walking on the toes and hands, attempts to perform actions that have no logical basis. As a result, involuntary movement becomes constant, due to which coordination is greatly impaired. Often attacks can last from a few seconds to ten minutes. However, in some patients, myoclones can occur for several years without causing serious discomfort and without causing progression, but, on the contrary, provide the opportunity to live a full life.

Causes of myoclonic muscle contractions. Myoclonus develops against the background of damage to the cerebral cortex and neurons located in the subcortical zone. The cause is the following disorders:

* organic disorders of brain function after injuries, infections, hypoxia; * neurodegenerative diseases

Myoclonus is a sudden, chaotic, rapid, irregular contraction of muscles, usually of one or more groups, that lasts from 1 to 5 seconds. They can be symmetrical (simultaneous contraction or stretching of the same muscle groups on the right and left) or asymmetrical (muscle contraction is more pronounced on one side of the body than on the other).

And once again about myoclonus (tics) Myoclonia is a convulsive syndrome in which there is a contraction of muscles throughout the body or a group of muscles. More often, myoclonus appears either at the beginning of awakening after sleep, or in the evening. Seizures can be triggered by a flash of light, bright light, or discomfort. In patients, they can manifest themselves both in the form of individual febrile muscle contractions, and in the form of attacks lasting from several minutes to half an hour, and can result in paralysis of the entire body or a muscle group. Antiepileptic drugs such as carbamazepine or valproic acid are suitable for the treatment of myoclonus. Until recently, the term “myoclonus” was understood as a small generalized tremor, i.e., trembling, characteristic of ordinary children performing tasks under the supervision of an adult. Currently, this term is understood to mean several conditions that are completely different in origin: this is hyperkinesis in the muscles of the face, less often of the torso, manifested by a rapid and fairly frequent convulsive contraction of this muscle, which in medicine is usually referred to as a “tic.” It manifests itself in involuntary short-term contractions, most often of the left side of the face (nose, mouth), rarely of the left hand, sometimes of both of these parts of the body. Frequent tics usually occur in children under three years of age, more often than in adults, and more often in girls. And the appearance of tics may be the first manifestation of any organic brain disease - damage to the hypothalamus, adenohypophysis, and