Involuntary motor movement, usually of the arms and upper torso (and sometimes trunk and legs), that may be caused by rheumatic fever (sydenham’s chorea) or huntington’s disease.
Continuous involuntary and irregular movements of the limbs or facial muscles.
Nervous condition marked by involuntary muscular twitching of the limbs or facial muscles.
The ceaseless occurrence of involuntary muscular movements of the limbs or facial muscles.
A pathological condition characterized by jerky, irregular, involuntary movements.
A sudden severe twitching, usually of the face and shoulders, which is a symptom of disease of the nervous system.
Chorea refers to an irregular, nonrhythmic, rapid, and un-sustained involuntary movement that flows from one body part to another. The timing, direction, and distribution of movements stemming from chorea are unpredictable in nature. Another common feature of this disorder is motor inefficiency as evidenced by the inability to sustain muscle tone to hold or grasp objects. Several types of chorea exist and stem from five etiologies: heredity, metabolic, cerebrovascular, infectious, and structural causes. The most common etiology in children is infection or coronary surgery. Sydenham’s chorea is the most common type of infectious chorea in children and is associated with streptococcal infection and rheumatic fever. The second most common type of chorea involves genetic links to the disease including a history of Huntington’s disease or juvenile onset of Huntington’s disease.
Unpredictable, involuntary, jerky movements, especially in the face and limbs, resulting from disturbances deep within the brain; formerly called St. Vitus’s dance. The condition is most often found in two diseases, Huntington’s chorea and Sydenham’s chorea. It also sometimes appears during pregnancy, as chorea gravidarum-, as a side effect from some kinds of drugs, including birth-control pills; or in cerebral palsy, often associated with the slow writhing of athetosis, the combination called choreoathetosis.
Disease of the nervous system characterized by involuntary, rapid, and spastic jerks, especially of the shoulders, hips, and face.
A condition of involuntary, purposeless, rapid, jerking movements, as if the person affected is “dancing.”
A jerky involuntary movement particularly affecting the shoulders, hips, and face. Each movement is sudden but the resulting posture may be prolonged for a few seconds. The symptoms are due to disease of the ‘basal ganglia. In Huntington’s chorea the involuntary movements are accompanied by a progressive dementia: there is widespread neuronal degeneration throughout the brain. It is inherited as a dominant characteristic, appearing in half of the children of the patients with this condition. Senile chorea occurs sporadically in elderly people and there is no dementia. Sydenham’s chorea affects children and is associated with rheumatic fever. It responds to mild sedatives.
Chorea, or St Vitus’s dance, is the occurrence of short, purposeless, involuntary movements of the face, head, hands and feet. Movements are sudden, but the affected person may hold the new posture for several seconds. Chorea is often accompanied by athetosis, when it is termed choreoathetosis. Choreic symptoms are often due to disease of the basal ganglion in the brain. The withdrawal of phenothiazines may cause the symptoms, as can the drugs used to treat parkinson’s disease. Types of chorea include huntington’s, an inherited disease, and sydenham’s, which is auto-immune. There is also a degenerative form — senile chorea.
The term used to describe abrupt, irregular, involuntary movements of the limbs or face, which are indicative of various neurological disorders, including chorea of pregnancy, Huntington’s chorea, and Sydenham’s chorea, is simply referred to as chorea.
Chorea is a condition characterized by spontaneous, rapid, and irregular movements that typically affect the face, limbs, and trunk. These movements are involuntary and occur randomly, unlike tics which are more predictable. Chorea tends to subside during sleep. Sometimes, this disorder is accompanied by athetosis, which involves continuous writhing movements. The combination of chorea and athetosis is referred to as choreoathetosis.
Chorea stems from a disruption or disease affecting deep structures within the brain, specifically the basal ganglia, which consists of paired nerve cell groups. This condition is commonly associated with Huntington’s disease and Sydenham’s chorea. Chorea can also manifest during pregnancy, known as chorea gravidarum. Furthermore, certain medications, including oral contraceptives, specific psychiatric drugs, and medications used to treat Parkinson’s disease, can induce chorea as a side effect.
When chorea is caused by an underlying disease, treatment often involves the use of medications that inhibit the nerve pathways associated with movement. In cases where chorea arises as a side effect of a specific drug, discontinuing the medication and providing an alternative substitute may be the appropriate course of action.
Chorea is a disease of the nervous system affecting girls more frequently than boys and characterized by spontaneous, uncontrollable movements, irregular both in time and extent, by muscular weakness, and by a variable degree of emotional disturbance. It is thought to be due to a diffuse inflammatory reaction occurring in the brain and its membranes. The patient becomes nervous and more impressionable, is increasingly unable to concentrate, becomes clumsy in his movements, and lets objects fall from his grasp. Anemia, apathy, languor, and irregularity of appetite are commonly present. There are slight involuntary movements of the face and fingers, often confined at first to one side of the body. Gradually the movements become more marked and spread to the limbs and trunk. The face is constantly grimacing, the hands and arms scarcely cease from turning about, and walking is irregular and clumsy. The child can no longer keep still, and even the breathing movements become irregular and spasmodic. At this stage the chorea is fully developed. There is a close association between this disease and rheumatic fever, in both of which the heart and its valves can be damaged. Also called Sydenham’s chorea, rheumatic chorea, St. Vitus ‘s dance.