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Chorea, Ballism, and Athetosis

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Movement Disorders Curricula

Abstract

Chorea is defined as a syndrome characterized by the continuous flow of random muscle contractions. This pattern of movement conveys a feeling of restlessness to the observer. When choreic movements are more severe, assuming a flinging, sometimes violent, character, they are called ballism. Neurophysiologic studies show that chorea and ballism share the same neuronal pattern, i.e., hypoactivity of the subthalamic nucleus and increased firing rate of the globus pallidus pars interna [26]. Athetosis describes sinuous, slow movements affecting distal limbs, particularly in the arms. There is a clear decline of the use of this term in the contemporary literature. The reason behind this tendency is the realization that athetosis is better defined as dystonia occasionally associated with some degree of chorea.

This chapter provides an overview of the most common causes of chorea in clinical practice with emphasis on clinical features, differential diagnosis, and management. The focus will be on nongenetic causes of chorea since there is one chapter on Huntington’s disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerias, Av Pasteur 89/1107, 30150-290, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

    Francisco Cardoso MD, PhD, FAAN

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  1. Francisco Cardoso MD, PhD, FAAN
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Correspondence to Francisco Cardoso MD, PhD, FAAN .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Transilvania University, Brasov, Romania

    Cristian Falup-Pecurariu

  2. Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, Lisbon, Portugal

    Joaquim Ferreira

  3. National Center of Epidemiology and CIBERNED, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain

    Pablo Martinez-Martin

  4. Centre of Excellence, King’s College London, National Parkinson Foundation Centre of Excellence King’s College, London, United Kingdom

    Kallol Ray Chaudhuri

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Cardoso, F. (2017). Chorea, Ballism, and Athetosis. In: Falup-Pecurariu, C., Ferreira, J., Martinez-Martin, P., Chaudhuri, K. (eds) Movement Disorders Curricula. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1628-9_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1628-9_26

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