Athetoid or Dyskenetic Cerebral Palsy

People with athetoid cerebral palsy have slow, writhing movements that they cannot control. The movements usually affect a person's hands, arms, feet, and legs. Sometimes the face and tongue are affected and the person has a hard time talking. Muscle tone can change from day to day and can vary even during a single day. Ten to twenty percent of people with cerebral palsy have the athetoid form of the condition.

What is Athetoid Cerebral Palsy?

Athetoid (or dyskinetic) Cerebral Palsy is characterized by involuntary, uncontrolled movements of the hands, feet, arms or legs. It comes from the Greek word athetos which means “not fixed” or “not in place.”

CP patients with athetoid cerebral palsy can exhibit different forms of involuntary movements. Athetosis involves involuntary movements which are slow, twisting and writhing. Other abnormal movements may also include chorea or choreoathetosis. Chorea is a movement disorder characterized by quick, irregular jerky movements which are involuntary and seem to flow from one muscle to the next. (Chorea comes from the Greek word khoreia meaning a choral dance.) Choreoathetosis is a combination of chorea and athetosis.

Athetosis is actually a slow form of chorea. The difference between athetosis, chorea and choreoathetosis is the speed of movement; chorea is slow, choreoathetosis is intermediate and chorea is fast. This is probably why some professionals use the term dyskinetic CP instead of athetoid CP. (Dys coming from the Greek word for difficult and kinesia from the Greek word kinesis for movement.)

How common is Athetoid Cerebral Palsy?

Athetoid cerebral palsy is the second most common form of CP, making up about 10% of CP cases:

What causes Athetoid CP?

Athetoid CP is caused by damage to the basal ganglia, located in the midbrain. This area plays a part in enabling the body to make smooth, coordinated movements. Malfunctioning in this area can cause involuntary movements in the face, arms and trunk.

What are the symptoms and difficulties associated with Athetoid CP?

The purposeless, involuntary movements of athetoid CP can affect the hands, feet, face, tongue and neck. Muscles alternate between floppy and tense, causing movements which can be rapid or slow, big or small, random or irregularly repetitive or jerky. Movements cannot be controlled by willpower and become more problematic with voluntary movements. Emotional stress aggravates these movements. Only during sleep do these symptoms disappear.

Difficulty controlling muscles of the throat, mouth and/or tongue can cause grimacing, drooling, problems with eating and swallowing, trouble speaking clearly (dysarthis). Affected arm and hand muscles cause problems with reaching, grasping, releasing and using objects like pencils or eating utensils. An inability to maintain posture by holding the body in an upright position causes difficult sitting or walking.

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