Choreatic movements

Chorea is a hyperkinetic movement disorder characterized by involuntary brief, random, and irregular contractions conveying a feeling of restlessness to the observe. They are often described as seeming to “flow” from one body part to another unpredictably, though they can also be confined to a single area of the body.

Chorea symptoms can range from minor movements, such as fidgeting, to severe uncontrolled arm and leg movements. It can also interfere with: speech, swallowing, posture, gait

The word "chorea" is derived from the Latin "choreus," meaning "dance." These movements may vary in severity from restlessness with mild intermittent exaggeration of gesture and expression, fidgeting movements of the hands, unstable dance-like gait to a continuous flow of disabling, violent movements.

Chorea is a primary feature of Huntington's disease, a progressive, hereditary movement disorder that appears in adults, but it may also occur in a variety of other conditions. Dozens of genetic conditions, autoimmune and infectious diseases, endocrine disorders, medications and even pregnancy can have chorea as a symptom.

Chorea can be caused by a variety of abnormal processes in the body, including metabolic derangements, exposure to certain drugs or toxins, genetic and degenerative diseases of the brain, infections, tumors, and disorders of the immune and inflammatory systems of the body.

At least two other movements related to chorea are seen in neurological diseases:
· Athetosis is a continuous stream of slow, twisting or squirming-like motions usually involving the hands and feet.
· Ballimus usually involves more intense movements such as wild flinging of one arm or leg.

Patients with chorea will sometimes become clumsy or drop objects repeatedly, and chorea can lead to falling when it affects walking. The characteristic pattern of walking that occurs in chorea is often easily recognizable by movement disorders neurologists.
Choreatic movements