What does mild chorea look like?

In milder cases, chorea may appear purposeful. The patient often appears fidgety and clumsy. Overall, chorea can affect various body parts, and interfere with speech, swallowing, posture and gait, and disappears in sleep.

What causes chorea minor?

Chorea minor is characterized by rapid, uncoordinated jerking movements primarily affecting the face, hands, and feet. In children the disease results from infection with group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus and is reported to occur in 20–30% of patients with acute rheumatic fever.

What does chorea feel like?

Chorea is a movement disorder that causes involuntary, irregular, unpredictable muscle movements. The disorder can make you look like you’re dancing (the word chorea comes from the Greek word for “dance”) or look restless or fidgety.

What causes chorea?

Chorea is an abnormal involuntary movement disorder, one of a group of neurological disorders called dyskinesias, which are caused by overactivity of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the areas of the brain that control movement.

When does chorea occur?

It affects girls more often than boys and typically occurs between 5 and 15 years of age. Some children will have a sore throat several weeks before the symptoms begin, but the disorder can also strike up to 6 months after the fever or infection has cleared.

Can you get Huntington’s if your parents don’t have it?

It’s possible to develop HD even if there are no known family members with the condition. Around 10% of people with HD don’t have a family history. Sometimes, that’s because a parent or grandparent was wrongly diagnosed with another condition like Parkinson’s disease, when in fact they had HD.

What are the signs and symptoms of chorea disease?

Another symptom is involuntarily sticking out the tongue. Chorea movements can be fast or slow. A person may appear to be writhing in pain and have no bodily control. These movements have also been called dance-like or similar to piano playing. Conditions associated with chorea and its symptoms include: Huntington’s disease is an inherited disease.

Why do people with chorea look like they are dancing?

The disorder can make you look like you’re dancing (the word chorea comes from the Greek word for “dance”) or look restless or fidgety. Chorea is a movement problem that occurs in many different diseases and conditions. Chorea itself isn’t life-threatening, but it could be a sign of a neurological disease such as Huntington’s disease.

What kind of medications do you take for chorea?

Most medications for chorea affect dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or brain chemical, that controls movement, thinking, and pleasure in your brain, among other things. Many movement disorders are associated with dopamine levels. These disorders include Parkinson’s disease and restless legs syndrome.

What are the symptoms of milkmaids grip chorea?

Chorea symptoms usually depend upon the condition causing it. A common symptom is “milkmaid’s grip.” People with this condition don’t have coordinated hand muscles and will squeeze and release their hand, as if milking. Another symptom is involuntarily sticking out the tongue.