Chorea sancti viti (Latin for "St. Vitus' dance") is an abnormal involuntary movement disorder, one of a group of neurological disorders called dyskinesias. The term chorea is derived from a Greek word khoreia (a kind of dance, see chorea), as the quick movements of the feet or hands are vaguely comparable to dancing or piano playing. NOS may refer to: Network operating system, a kind of computer software Net outside sales Nokia OS, operating system software for Nokia mobile telephones Nitrous Oxide a gas used painkiller for surgeries and an automobile propellant. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The following codes are used with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... Vitus was a Christian saint from Sicily, Italy, Roman Empire. ... Dyskinesia refers to an impairment of voluntary movement. ... Chorea (choreia, khoreia, χορεία) is a circle dance (χορεύω σε κύκλο) accompanied by singing (see chorus, khoros), known in ancient Greece. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ...

Description and cause

Chorea is characterized by brief, irregular contractions that are not repetitive or rhythmic, but appear to flow from one muscle to the next. These 'dance-like' movements of chorea (from the word, choreography) often occur with athetosis, which adds twisting and writhing movements. Chorea can occur in a variety of conditions and disorders. Chorea is a primary feature of Huntington's disease, a progressive, hereditary movement disorder. Twenty percent of children and adolescents with rheumatic fever develop Sydenham's chorea as a complication. Chorea may also be caused by drugs (levodopa, anti-convulsants, anti-psychotics), metabolic disorders, endocrine disorders, and vascular incidents. Athetosis is a continuous stream of slow, sinuous, writhing movements, typically of the hands and feet. ... Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease which may develop after a Group A streptococcal infection (such as strep throat or scarlet fever) and can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. ... Sydenhams chorea (or Rheumatic chorea) is a disease characterized by rapid, uncoordinated jerking movements affecting primarily the face, feet and hands. ... L-DOPA (levodopa, 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine). ... The anticonvulsants, sometimes also called antiepileptics, belong to a diverse group of pharmaceuticals used in prevention of the occurrence of epileptic seizures. ... The term antipsychotic is applied to a group of drugs used to treat psychosis. ...

Ballism

When chorea is serious, slight movements will become thrashing motions; this form of severe chorea is referred to as ballism. Walking may become peculiar, and include odd postures and leg movements. Unlike ataxia and dystonia, which affect the quality of voluntary movements or parkinsonism, which is a hindrance of voluntary movements, the movements of chorea and ballism occur on their own, without conscious effort. umm ur mad looking at it now. ... Ataxia (from Greek ataxiā, meaning failure to put in order) is unsteady and clumsy motion of the limbs or torso due to a failure of the gross coordination of muscle movements. ... Dystonia (literally, abnormal muscle tone) is a generic term used to describe a neurological movement disorder involving involuntary, sustained muscle contractions. ... Parkinsonism describes the common symptoms of Parkinsons disease - tremor, rigidity, akinesia or bradykinesia and postural instability. ...

Treatment

There is no standard course of treatment for chorea. Treatment depends on the type of chorea and the associated disease. For example a common treatment for Huntington's disease is dopaminergic antagonists, although treatment is largely supportive. Treatment for Syndenham's chorea usually involves antibiotic drugs to treat the infection, followed by drug therapy to prevent recurrence. Adjusting medication dosages can treat drug-induced chorea. Metabolic and endocrine-related choreas are treated according to the cause(s) of symptoms. Dopamine is a chemical naturally produced in the body. ... Antagonists In medicine and biology, a receptor antagonist is a ligand that inhibits the function of an agonist and inverse agonist for a specific receptor. ... Staphylococcus aureus - Antibiotics test plate. ...

See also

• Movement disorder
• Choreoathetosis