There are certain diseases that can affect the elderly and cause serious debilitation. Many of these diseases are movement disorders that can affect the quality of life and the ability of them to live independently. Below, we are going to talk about what some of these movements are and how you can help out your parents, grandparents or anyone else you know affected by these diseases.

What are movement disorders?

Movement disorders are those that affect the entire body, but begin in the brain. These are disorders where there is a build up of misfolded proteins, or a degeneration of certain parts of the brain, or a chemical imbalance that can cause the brain to misfire movement signals. There are different types of movement disorders, and they eventually become so debilitating that these individuals pass away. Although there are no treatments for these diseases, there are certain types of management protocols that they can follow to lead as normal of a life as possible before the diseases seriously progresses.

What are the different types of movement disorders and their causes?

There are various types of movement disorders and it is important that you understand which is which because they have different pathologies and treatments.

Parkinson’s Diseases

This is a slowly progressive, degenerative disease that causes issues with walking, balance and movements. These patients often have a shuffling gait, and a tremor that affects their entire bodies. This disease starts out with a noticeable tremor in one hand that spreads across the body. Overtime, they will experience stiffness (rigidity) and slow movement (bradykinesia). It can also cause other non-movement symptoms. Eventually, speech is affected becoming soft or slurred and it is also difficult to write. Automatic movements like blinking, smiling, or swinging arms while working will be impacted as well.

Parkinson’s is caused by a multitude of factors including genes and environmental. These triggers lead to the breakdown or death of several neurons that produce a neurochemical called dopamine. With a decrease of dopamine, the brain is unable to perform its normal function to cause movement. There can also be a build up of substances called Lewy Bodies and alpha-synuclein, another substance, within the lewy bodies. It is believed that this clump of molecules is too difficult to be broken down and can cause Parkinson’s.

There is no treatment for Parkinson’s other than supportive management. There are medications that can help to control symptoms that often increase the level of dopamine in the brain. One common medication is levodopa which is the most effective. It is converted into dopamine to help replenish what’s missing. Dopamine agonists also help with your levels of dopamine by mimicking the effects of dopamine in your brain. There are also surgical interventions that may help like deep brain stimulation. This approach is most helpful for those with extreme cases. Lifestyle remedies are very helpful including healthy eating, exercise, and avoiding falls.

Huntington’s Disease

Huntington’s is a progressive brain disorder that appears commonly between the ages of 30-50. However, they can appear as early as 2 or as late as 80. These patients have uncontrolled movements of the arms, legs, face, and upper body. There is also a decline in the executive function of the brain, including thinking, memory, concentration, and judgement. These patience will also have trouble planning and organizing. The brain changes can lead to alterations in mood including an onset of depression, anxiety, and anger and irritability that is uncharacteristic that person’s normal disposition. There is also a symptom of obsessive-compulsive behavior, causing repetitive movements and activity.

Huntington’s is caused by a defective gene called Huntingtin. There is not a lot of information on why this gene has errors, or how these errors lead to the symptoms of Huntington’s.

There is currently no way to cure or slow the progression of this disease’s affect on the brain. Professionals try to treat the symptoms like chorea, irritability and obsessive-compulsive disorder. They treat the chorea with an atypical antipsychotic drug, and the irritability and OCD with SSRIs.

Tremor

This is a disorder that causes involuntary rhythmic shaking of parts of the body. This means that anyone affected will have uncontrollable movements of their heads, hands, and other parts of the body that they are performing unintentionally. There are various types of tremors including essential tremor, Parkinsonian tremor, and dystonic tremor. An essential tremor is a the most common type and usually affects hands, head, voice, tongue, legus and trunk. A Parkinsonian tremor is a symptom of the aforementioned Parkinson’s disease that can affect individuals when they are at rest. A dystonic tremor happens in those with dystonia, and involves involuntary muscle contractions which can cause twisting and repetitive movements. There is also an intention tremor which appears when someone is reaching for something or intending to use a body part. Otherwise, there is no tremor when that person is at rest.

The causes of tremors are widely spread throughout the brain. It is generally understood, however that there are problems deep in the brain that control movements. Neurological disorders, medications, alcohol use, mercury poisoning and hyperthyroidism are a few of the causes that have been loosely tied to tremors or the diseases that cause tremors.

There is no cure for tremor, but there are management strategies like medicine, surgery (for severe cases) and therapy to help control the tremor and daily challenges caused by it.

Dystonia

Dystonia is a movement disorder causing repetitive or twisting movements.. This can affect one or more parts of the body, and range from focal dystonia – affecting one body part only – to general where it affects the whole body. The body spasms can be painful and interfere with day-to-day tasks.  They can occur during specific actions and worsen with stress, fatigue, or anxiety. They become more noticeable over time and can affect the neck, eyelids, jaw or tongue, voicebox, hand and forearm.

The cause of dystonia is unknown, but it may have something to do with altered nerve-cell communication in different regions of the brain. Some forms of dystonia are inherited, or can be symptoms of other disorders or conditions like the aforementioned disorders, traumatic brain injury, stroke, infections, or reactions to certain medications or heavy metal poisoning.

A similar approach is taken with the management of dystonia where physicians try to treat the sympoms. Injections of botox into the muscle may eliminate muscle contractions and medications like levodopa and benazines may help with neurotransmitters in the brain that affect muscle movement.

Myoclonus

Myoclonus are involuntary muscle jerks. Hiccups are an example of myoclonus of the diaphragm or the sudden jerks that you feel right before falling asleep. These are normal examples of myoclonus, but when it becomes a neurological disorder, that’s when it becomes a problem. These are jerks, shakes or spasms that are shock-like and may be severe enough to interfere with eating, speaking or walking. These can be primary symptoms or disorders like epilepsy, or other seizure disorders. These can also be secondary to nervous system conditions like Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s, etc.

The causes of myoclonus depend on the type of myoclonus. essential myoclonus seems to happen without cause or is hereditary. Epileptic myoclonus is a part of an epileptic disorder which can be caused by several things. Symptomatic myoclonus is a symptom of another disorder like lipid storage disease, poisoning, prolonged hypoxia, autoimmune inflammatory conditions or metabolic disorders, to name a few.

Treatment for myoclonus is most effective when the underlying cause of myoclonus can be identified and treated. However, if this underlying disease cannot be cured, than neither can the myoclonus. Doctors try tranquilizers like clonazepam to combat myoclonus symptoms and anticonvulsants. Botox injections may also be useful to help reduce some of the symptoms.

Ataxia

Ataxia is a lack of muscle control or coordination of voluntary movements like walking or picking up things. For example, when someone is inebriated, or drunk, they may find it hard to maintain balance, walk, and coordinate their movements the way they can do while they are sober. This is an example of ataxia. However, when it’s persistent, and happening without substance, it can be a sign of damage to the parts of the brain that are responsible for coordinating muscle movements and balance.

Ataxia is caused by damage, degeneration sor loss to nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls muscle coordination, cerebellum. This damage can occur from head trauma, stroke, cerebral palsy, autoimmune disease infections, or abnormalities in the brain, among many other causes.

There is no cure for ataxia, but treating the underlying cause may resolve some of the issues, especially ataxia caused by infections. Certain therapies like physical therapy, occupational and speech may also help with some of the symptoms.

[Sources]:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ataxia/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355655

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/myoclonus/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20350462

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dystonia/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20350484

https://medlineplus.gov/tremor.html

https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-dementia/types-of-dementia/huntington-s-disease

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20376062

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/movement-disorders/symptoms-causes/syc-20363893