Have you ever observed someone displaying trembling, facial contortions or sudden movements? These behaviors may indicate dyskinesia, a movement disorder that affects a number of individuals. Studies suggest that 1, in 20 people aged over 65 are affected by dyskinesia. It's not an illness but a term encompassing various conditions that lead to involuntary muscle movements.

 While dealing with dyskinesia can be challenging and disruptive, the encouraging news is that there are treatment options to help manage these symptoms and regain control over your movements. Let's explore further into what causes dyskinesia, its symptoms and the treatments that can assist in improving your quality of life.

What is dyskinesia?

Dyskinesia is a movement disorder that we can observe as uncoordinated involuntary muscle movements. The movements can range from small shakes, tics and tremors, which can be isolated to one body part, or we can experience them in our full-body. There are several reasons that can cause dyskinesia, including genetic factors, brain injury, and certain medications. Dyskinesia is actually quietly commonly observed in people with Parkinson's disease. It happens due to the overstimulation of dopamine receptors in the brain.

Causes of dyskinesia:

The most common culprit behind this movement disorder is medication. We can see dyskinesis as a side effect of taking medication that help us regulate the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. We can imagine them as a monkey wrench thrown into the works with these involuntary movements. Other than Parkinson's medication, antipsychotics can also lead to dyskinesis. It is like our medications are intentionally blocking the dopamine and other neurotransmitters that help control movement. It can mess with our brain's communication system, potentially causing tardive dyskinesia.

A brain injury is another potential wrecker that can lead us to develop dyskinesia. It is not like all types of brain injuries would lead to the condition, but rather the injuries that cause structural changes in our brain. When damage is caused to the basal ganglia, the area of our brain that controls our voluntary movements, the probability of dyskinesia skyrockets.

Symptoms of dyskinesia:

Even though the main symptoms that we observe are uncontrolled involuntary movements, they can also manifest as twitching, slurred speech, and impaired balance. Let us list the other common symptoms:

• Writhing

• Head bobbing

• Fidgeting

• Swaying

• Rocking

• Rapid blinking

• Waving of arms or hands

• Sticking out of the tongue

• Random movement of the lips, tongue, or jaw

• In severe cases, difficulty breathing, or swaying movement in hips or torso is also observed.

Types of Dyskinesia

We can classify dyskinesia based on how we are seeing the symptoms. Common types of dyskinesia include the following:

• Parkinson's dyskinesia is also called levodopa-induced dyskinesia. It is basically caused by higher doses of levodopa at a younger age. It is very essential for those of us who are suffering from Parkinson's disease. It causes uncontrolled movements in legs, arms, torso and face. These movements can sometimes be slow or rapid movements and might be accompanied with muscle spasm, which we know as dystonia. Dyskinesia itself is painless but dystonia can be painful.

• Tardive dyskinesia makes us lose control of our face muscles. We can face uncontrolled facial movements that make us grimace or stick it out tongue uncontrollably. It is also a type that we see when we are using antipsychotics or antidepressant medication for a long time.

• Chorea, another type of dyskinesia where the movements we experience are jerky, but irregular. These conditions only ast for a few seconds. Now, one distinctive thing about chorea, is that it occurs in one half of our body at a time. It means that we will find that only one part of our body is moving and the other is not. It is commonly seen in people with Huntington's disease.

• Dystonia is an uncontrolled contraction of muscles that we experience as repetitive, atypical twisting movements or postures. It causes involuntary blinking, and writer's cramp. An important point to note is that doctors cannot tell us the underlying cause of dystonia because it is still under investigation.

• Myoclonus causes sudden jerky muscle spasms. A typical brain injury in our central nervous system can lead us to develop it. There are different types of myoclonus and their causes are also various. A few typical causes include oxygen cutoffs to the brain and seizures.

• Athetosis is characterized by slow writhing movements in our fingers, toes, hands, tongue, arms, legs or neck. It is also caused by brain damage due to lack of oxygen or blood supply.

Treatment of Dyskinesia

Dyskinesia can feel like a puppet master controlling our body, but we don't have to live with it! In many cases, doctors can address the root cause, putting us back in charge.

If a specific medication like levodopa is the culprit, our doctor will adjust the dosage or explore alternative medications that can be given alongside. There are also medications to manage muscle spasms, but finding the right one that can work with you might be challenging – some can actually trigger dyskinesia themselves! Don't worry, our doctor will tailor the treatment to our specific needs.

For tardive dyskinesia, there are specialized medications like Xenazine, Austedo, or Ingrezza that can help us gain control back. Injections like Botox can also be a weapon in our doctor's arsenal, especially for controlling our facial movements.

For the most severe cases, deep brain stimulation offers a powerful solution. This minimally invasive procedure (but it is still invasive) uses electrodes to regulate our movement and posture, giving us back control. It's particularly effective for genetic or unexplained dyskinesia.

Conclusion

Dyskinesia might appear complicated and overwhelming. With the diagnosis and a range of treatment choices, at our disposal, we don't have to let it dictate our lives. It's important to note that many causes of dyskinesia can be addressed and even for cases with origins, there are methods to handle Symptoms and regain control over our movements. We must constantly talk to our doctor to explore options and develop a treatment strategy that suits us best. We have the power to take control of our well being and lead a life free from any movement shackles.