Dyskinesia in the Aging

Abstract

This article discusses dyskinetic phenomena in the aged, involuntary movements which are manifested as inappropriate or excessive movements of the limbs, face, or even of the entire trunk. There is, of course, no way that all disorders of movements can be discussed, or even completely listed today. For clinicians, especially we who are aging, new movements and new theories of movements constantly appear and they appear with bewildering rapidity. Some of these are dyskinesias which are rediscovered, some represent movements perceived for the first time because new concepts have arisen, and some unfortunately are produced by our medications and by our surgical colleagues. All movement is a continuous combination of afferent and efferent phenomena in the nervous system and the nervous system lacks water-tight compartments. Even sensory disorders can be reflected in the motor system. Some movement patterns are under central control with feedback or servomechanisms linking one region of the nervous system to another. It is apparent, therefore, that an anatomical, physiologic, clinical, or theoretical framework could be used for classification of the dyskinesias. The list that follows utilizes all of these features in a manner which I prefer to call non-obsessive rather than simply disorganized.