Misdiagnosis of Underlying Causes of Myoclonus
| About underlying conditions: With a diagnosis of Myoclonus, it is important to consider whether there is an underlying condition causing Myoclonus. These are other medical conditions that may possibly cause Myoclonus. For general information on this form of misdiagnosis, see Underlying Condition Misdiagnosis or Overview of Misdiagnosis |
Underlying conditions list: The list of possible underlying conditions mentioned in various sources for Myoclonus includes:
- Infection
- Head injury
- Spinal cord injury
- Stroke
- Brain tumors
- Kidney failure
- Liver failure
- Lipid storage disease
- Chemical poisoning (type of Poisoning)
- Drug poisoning (type of Poisoning)
- Hypoxia - causing posthypoxic myoclonus.
- Other causes of symptoms seizures or spasms
Myoclonus as a complication: Other conditions that might have Myoclonus as a complication might be potential underlying conditions. The list of conditions listing Myoclonus as a complication includes:
Myoclonus as a symptom: Conditions listing Myoclonus as a symptom may also be potential underlying conditions:
- Alpers Syndrome
- Corticobasal Degeneration
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
- Hydranencephaly
- Opsoclonus Myoclonus
- Prion diseases
- Ramsay Hunt Syndrome Type 2
- Sandhoff Disease
Underlying conditions discussion: Most often myoclonus is one of several symptoms in a wide variety of nervous system disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Familiar examples of normal myoclonus include hiccups, and jerks or "sleep starts" that some people experience while drifting off to sleep. Severe cases of pathologic myoclonus can distort movement and severely limit a person's ability to eat, talk, and walk. Myoclonic jerks commonly occur in individuals with epilepsy. 1
Myoclonus may develop in response to infection, head or spinal cord
injury, stroke, brain tumors, kidney or liver failure, lipid storage
disease, chemical or drug poisoning, or other disorders. Prolonged oxygen
deprivation to the brain, called hypoxia, may result in posthypoxic
myoclonus. Myoclonus can occur by itself, but most often it is one of
several symptoms associated with a wide variety of nervous system
disorders. For example, myoclonic jerking may develop in patients with
multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, or
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Myoclonic jerks commonly occur in persons with
epilepsy, a disorder in which the electrical activity in the brain becomes
disordered leading to seizures.2
Footnotes:
1. excerpt from NINDS Myoclonus Information Page: NINDS
2. excerpt from Myoclonus Fact Sheet: NINDS
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