Dopaminergic medications used in the treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease are associated with motor and non-motor behavioural side-effects, such as dyskinesias and impulse control disorders also known as behavioural addictions. Levodopa-induced dyskinesias occur in up to 80% of patients with Parkinson's after a few years of chronic treatment. Impulse control disorders, including gambl...

Dystonia is defined as a neurological syndrome characterized by involuntary sustained or intermittent muscle contractions causing twisting, often repetitive movements, and postures. Paroxysmal dyskinesias are episodic movement disorders encompassing dystonia, chorea, athetosis, and ballism in conscious individuals. Several decades of research have enhanced the understanding of the etiology of h...

BACKGROUND This study analyzed the presence of awareness of movement disorders (dyskinesias and hypokinesias) in 25 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and motor fluctuations (dyskinesias, wearing off, on-off fluctuations). Of the few studies that have dealt with this topic, none have analyzed the differences in the awareness of motor deficits by comparing the on and off states using motor s...

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative movement disorder characterised by the motor features of tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia. These features are associated with the loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and a subsequent deficiency in striatal DA, which is required for the effective control of movements. However, there is evidence of a more diffuse...

Oral levodopa remains the most effective symptomatic drug for Parkinson’s disease (PD); however, its long-term use is limited by the emergence of motor fluctuations and involuntary movements, particularly in young-onset patients. A growing number of pre-clinical and clinical studies suggest that non-physiological pulsatile stimulation of striatal dopamine (DA) receptors induced by the use of sh...

A patient with tardive dyskinesia dominated by pelvic thrusting movements is described. A retrospective review of the clinical features documented in patients with metoclopramide- and antipsychotic-induced tardive dyskinesias seen over a six year period demonstrated that the occurrence of pronounced pelvic thrusting and respiratory dyskinesias were significantly more common in the metoclopramid...

Alexandra Borchert, MD Gabriel Möddel, MD Matthias Schilling, MD A man presented multifocal brachiofacial or generalized dystonic movements and dyskinesias (video on the Neurology Web site at www.neurology.org). Episodes started with a variable aura, triggered by emotional stress or movement initiation. Clinical examination and diagnostics including brain MRI and EEG were normal. Attacks stoppe...