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Irregular, spasmodic, involuntary movements of the limbs or facial muscles, often accompanied by hypotonia. The location of the responsible cerebral lesion is not known. [L. fr. G. choreia, a choral dance, fr. choros, a dance]
- c.-acanthocytosis a slowly progressive familial c. with associated mental deterioration, diminished deep tendon reflexes, bilateral atrophy of the putamen and caudate nuclei and acanthocytosis (thorny appearance of blood erythrocytes); the disorder typically begins around late adolescence; inheritance is usually autosomal recessive. SYN: acanthocytosis with c..
- benign familial c. a rare, nonprogressive movement disorder characterized by c. and athetosis appearing in early childhood, most commonly manifested as gait ataxia and upper limb coordination. Intellect is unaffected. Probably autosomal-dominance inheritance with incomplete penetrance.
- dancing c. SYN: procursive c..
- degenerative c. SYN: Huntington c..
- electric c. 1. progressively fatal spasmodic disorder, possibly of malarial origin, occurring chiefly in Italy; 2. a severe form of Sydenham c., in which the spasms are rapid and of a specially jerky character.
- fibrillary c. SYN: myokymia.
- c. gravidarum sydenham c. occurring in pregnancy.
- hemilateral c. SYN: hemichorea.
- hereditary c. SYN: Huntington c..
- Huntington c. [MIM*143100] a neurodegenerative disorder, with onset usually in the third or fourth decade, characterized by c. and dementia; pathologically, there is bilateral marked atrophy of the putamen and the head of the caudate nucleus. Autosomal dominant inheritance with complete penetrance, caused by mutation associated with trinucleotide repeat expansion in the Huntington gene (HD) on chromosome 4p. SYN: chronic progressive c., degenerative c., hereditary c., Huntington disease.
- hysterical c. conversion hysteria in which involuntary, quick, and purposeless (choreiform) movements constitute the chief feature.
- juvenile c. SYN: Sydenham c..
- laryngeal c. a spasmodic tic involving the muscles, resulting in a halting manner of speaking, as in spasmotic dysphonia.
- posthemiplegic c. SYN: posthemiplegic athetosis.
- procursive c. a form in which the patient whirls around, runs forward, or exercises a sort of rhythmic dancing movement. SYN: dancing c..
- saltatory c. rhythmic dancing movements, as in procursive c..
- senile c. a disorder resembling Sydenham c., not associated with cardiac disease or dementia, occurring in the aged.
- Sydenham c. a postinfectious c. appearing several months after a streptococcal infection with subsequent rheumatic fever. The c. typically involves the distal limbs and is associated with hypotonia and emotional lability. Improvement occurs over weeks or months and exacerbations occur without associated infection recurrence. SYN: acute c., c. minor, juvenile c., rheumatic c., Sydenham disease.
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cho·rea kə-'rē-ə n any of various nervous disorders of infectious or organic origin marked by spasmodic movements of the limbs and facial muscles and by incoordination called also Saint Vitus' dance see HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE, SYDENHAM'S CHOREA
cho·re·at·ic .kōr-ē-'at-ik, .kȯr- adj
cho·re·ic kə-'rē-ik adj
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n.
a jerky involuntary movement particularly affecting the head, face, or limbs. Each movement is sudden but the resulting posture may be prolonged for a few seconds. The symptoms are usually due to disease of the basal ganglia but may result from drug therapy for parkinsonism or on the withdrawal of phenothiazines. Such movements are characteristic of Huntington's disease, in which they are associated with progressive dementia. See also Sydenham's chorea.
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cho·rea (kə-reґə) [L., from Gr. choreia dance] the occurrence of a variety of continual, rapid, highly complex, jerky, dyskinetic movements that look well-coordinated but are actually involuntary. choreal, choreic adjMedical dictionary. 2011.