Patients experience involuntary, rapid darting movements of their eyes, as well as lightning-quick jerking of the muscles in their faces, eyelids, arms, legs, hands, heads, and trunk. Many individuals also experience weak and floppy muscles and a tremor.
include mood changes, rage, irritability, nervousness, anxiety, severe drowsiness, confusion, and decreased awareness and responsiveness.
a syndrome in which the eyes dart involuntarily (opsoclonus or dancing eyes) and muscles throughout the body jerk or twitch involuntarily (myoclonus).
Treatment of the symptoms of opsoclonus myoclonus include clonzaepam or valproate. These may decrease the severity of both the opsoclonus and the myoclonus.
Diagnosis is primarily arrived at through identification of concurrent opsoclonus and myoclonus.
In children, the most common type of tumor that precipitates opsoclonus myoclonus is called neuroblastoma.
Most children who develop opsoclonus myoclonus are under the age of two when they are diagnosed.
Rarely, opsoclonus myoclonus can occur after the use of certain medications such as intravenous phenytoin or diazepam , or subsequent to an overdose of the antidepressant amitriptyline
a syndrome in which the eyes dart involuntarily (opsoclonus or dancing eyes) and muscles throughout the body jerk or twitch involuntarily (myoclonus).
When ACTH is given in high intravenous (IV) doses for about 20 weeks, the body produces large quantities of steroids, which can help quell any immune response that may be responsible for the opsoclonus myoclonus
The treatment team will include a neurologist and neurosurgeon. A physical therapist, occupational therapist, and speech and language therapist may help an individual with opsoclonus myoclonus retain or regain as much functioning as possible.
Boys and girls are affected equally.
About half of all cases are associated with a cancerous tumor; this kind of symptom that occurs due to cancer is termed a paraneoplastic syndrome.
a very rare syndrome that strikes previously normal infants, children, or adults, often occurring in conjunction with certain cancerous tumors, viral infections, or medication use. Onset can be very sudden and dramatic, with a quick progression.
Nocturnal myoclonus-- A disorder in which the patient is awakened repeatedly during the night by cramps or twitches in the calf muscles. Nocturnal myoclonus is sometimes called periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD).