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Myokymia

Successive and rapid contractions of motor units associated with chronic nerve injury. The discharges arise from the peripheral aspects of regenerating nerves, and clinically impart a nearly continuous undulation of the body surface overlying the muscle. (Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p1491)

Also Known As:

Fibrillary Chorea; Kymatism; Morvan Chorea; Morvan's Chorea; Morvan's Fibrillary Chorea; Myokymia, Generalized; Chorea, Fibrillary; Chorea, Morvan; Chorea, Morvan's; Chorea, Morvan's Fibrillary; Choreas, Fibrillary; Choreas, Morvan; Choreas, Morvan's; Fibrillary Chorea, Morvan's; Fibrillary Choreas; Generalized Myokymia; Generalized Myokymias; Kymatisms; Morvan Choreas; Morvan Fibrillary Chorea; Morvan's Choreas; Morvans Chorea; Morvans Fibrillary Chorea; Myokymias; Myokymias, Generalized

Networked: 102 relevant articles (7 outcomes, 7 trials/studies)

Relationship Network

Disease Context: Research Results

Related Diseases

1.	Ataxia (Dyssynergia)
2.	Thymoma (Thymic Carcinoma)
3.	Spasm (Spasms)
4.	Dystonic Disorders (Writer's Cramp)
5.	Hemifacial Spasm

Experts

1.	Hanna, Michael G: 3 articles (04/2014 - 11/2009)
2.	Jen, Joanna C: 2 articles (04/2014 - 02/2008)
3.	Baloh, Robert W: 2 articles (04/2014 - 01/2012)
4.	Maljevic, Snezana: 2 articles (01/2014 - 04/2008)
5.	Lerche, Holger: 2 articles (01/2014 - 04/2008)
6.	Oh, Shin J: 2 articles (06/2011 - 06/2003)
7.	Rison, Richard A: 2 articles (03/2011 - 04/2009)
8.	Beydoun, Said R: 2 articles (03/2011 - 04/2009)
9.	Moltó-Jordá, J M: 1 article (08/2015)
10.	Fernández-Izquierdo, S: 1 article (08/2015)

Drugs and Biologics

Drugs and Important Biological Agents (IBA) related to Myokymia:

1.	Botulinum Toxins (Botulinum Toxin)IBA 03/01/2007 - "Ptosis caused by orbicularis myokymia and treated with botulinum toxin: a case report." 10/01/2010 - "We report the first case of isolated laryngeal myokymia in a 48-year-old woman with no other neurological findings, and our successful results in initial treatment and maintenance therapy with focal intralaryngeal injections of botulinum toxin A." 01/01/2000 - "Botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) has been used successfully to treat a variety of focal dystonias and occasionally in orbicularis myokymia, but its use has not been reported in continuous hemifacial myokymia. " 09/01/1995 - "Botulinum toxin A is effective in treating trismus associated with postradiation myokymia and muscle spasm."
2.	AutoantibodiesIBA 12/01/1998 - "The association of thymoma with other autoimmune disorders and autoantibodies, and prolonged and sustained remission with chronic immunosuppression, place Morvan's fibrillary chorea on the range of neurological diseases arising as a paraneoplastic complication of cortical thymomas." 08/01/2008 - "Severance of cortical-subcortical limbic structures is due to visceral thalamus degeneration in fatal familial insomnia, and may depend on autoantibodies blocking voltage-gated potassium channels within the limbic system in Morvan's chorea, and the sudden changes in gabaergic synapses down-regulated by chronic alcohol abuse within the limbic system in delirium tremens. "
3.	gabapentin (Neurontin)FDA LinkGeneric 12/01/1998 - "A case of myokymia-cramp syndrome successfully treated with gabapentin." 03/01/2002 - "Disappearance of the myokymia and improvement in the ataxia were attained with the use of the GABAergic drugs gabapentin and tiagabine. "
4.	Lidocaine (Xylocaine)FDA LinkGeneric 01/01/1999 - "After an epidural nerve block with 1 per cent lidocaine 10 ml, the myokymia temporally improved, during which time the hyperexcitable F-waves became normalized. "
5.	rituximab (Mabthera)FDA Link 02/01/2011 - "Rituximab treatment was followed by an improvement in muscle strength, allowing successful weaning from mechanical ventilation, diminution in myokymia and improved cognition. "
6.	tiagabine (Gabitril)FDA Link 03/01/2002 - "Disappearance of the myokymia and improvement in the ataxia were attained with the use of the GABAergic drugs gabapentin and tiagabine. "
7.	Ion Channels (Ion Channel)IBA 06/05/2009 - "The previous study excluded nine candidate genes chosen for their association with myokymia or chorea and two regions containing single or clustered ion channel genes. " 04/01/2014 - "Episodic ataxia type 1 is considered a rare neuronal ion channel disorder characterized by brief attacks of unsteadiness and dizziness with persistent myokymia. " 09/01/1996 - "Several human Mendelian diseases, including the long-QT syndrome, malignant hyperthermia, and episodic ataxia/myokymia syndrome, have recently been demonstrated to be due to mutations in ion channel genes. " 07/01/1996 - "The fact that three other paroxysmal neurological disorders (periodic ataxia with myokymia and hypo- and hyperkalemic periodic paralysis) are due to mutation in ion-channel genes raises the possibility that PDC is also due to an ion-channel gene mutation. " 12/01/2010 - "These findings demonstrate that spectrin cytoskeleton finely regulates ion channel distribution and implicates KCNQ2/3 subunits in axonal excitability and in myokymia aetiology."
8.	Carbamazepine (Tegretol)FDA LinkGeneric 08/01/1976 - "The myokymia disappeared during sleep, spinal anesthesia, and treatment with carbamazepine." 09/01/1971 - "[Electroclinical study of a case of neuromyotonia with myokymia, reacting favorably to carbamazepine]." 01/01/1994 - "When electrical myokymia was observed (66%), the grouped discharges where irregular and had an interburst frequency of 2-300 Hz. Both phenytoin and carbamazepine are effective treatments. " 01/01/1984 - "Fasciculation, muscle stiffness, cramps, myokymia, impaired muscle relaxation and percussion myotonia, with their electromyographic accompaniments, were abolished by peripheral nerve blocking, carbamazepine, valproic acid or prednisone therapy. "
9.	Ethylnitrosourea (N-Ethyl-N-nitrosourea)IBA 01/30/2012 - "In the present study, we have identified an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-mutagenized rat, named autosomal dominant myokymia and seizures (ADMS), with a missense mutation (S309T) in the voltage-sensor domain, S4, of the Kcna1 gene. "
10.	Progeria short stature pigmented neviIBA 12/01/2005 - "Our clinical and neurophysiological study seems to indicate that a particular condition of severe sleep disruption, similar to some extent to that reported in the fatal familial insomnia and in the Morvan fibrillary chorea, which has been indicated as Agrypnia Excitata in recent literature, might be associated with the Mulvihill-Smith syndrome. "

Therapies and Procedures

1.	Nerve Block (Nerve Blocks) 08/01/1996 - "The epidural nerve block brought about a disappearance of the myokymia and an improvement of the abnormal features of F response. " 05/01/1995 - "The epidural nerve block brought about a disappearance of the myokymia and an improvement of the abnormal features of F response. " 11/01/1978 - "Myokymia was caused by spontaneous motor unit activity which was shown to originate in peripheral nerves, since it persisted after nerve block and was abolished by regional curarization. " 01/01/1999 - "After an epidural nerve block with 1 per cent lidocaine 10 ml, the myokymia temporally improved, during which time the hyperexcitable F-waves became normalized. " 02/01/1989 - "Myokymia, pseudomyotonia (difficulty relaxing after forceful contraction), and ischemia-induced carpal spasm (Trousseau's phenomenon) were not abolished by nerve block distal to the cuff or by intravenous infusion of calcium. "
2.	Plasmapheresis 04/01/1996 - "The use of plasmapheresis in the treatment of Morvan's fibrillary chorea has not been reported previously and in our patients improved the symptoms markedly." 04/01/1996 - "Morvan's fibrillary chorea: remission after plasmapheresis." 01/01/1999 - "We treated her with double filtration plasmapheresis, which resulted in remarkable improvement of myokymia; simultaneously, the abnormal F-waves showed a decrease in amplitude, duration, and in the number of phases. " 08/01/1996 - "After repeated double filtration plasmapheresis, the myokymia and abnormal features of F response were remarkably reduced. " 04/01/1996 - "We evaluated the effects of plasmapheresis in two patients with Morvan's fibrillary chorea, one of whom had sigmoid carcinoma, with oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid, and modifications of the lipid-oxidative muscle pattern. "
3.	Artificial Respiration (Mechanical Ventilation) 02/01/2011 - "Rituximab treatment was followed by an improvement in muscle strength, allowing successful weaning from mechanical ventilation, diminution in myokymia and improved cognition. "
4.	Denervation 03/01/2002 - "The electrophysiologic study showed continuous spontaneous activity integrated by myokymia and neuromyotonic discharges in addition to signs of acute and chronic denervation. " 05/01/2000 - "Electromyography, however, showed no evidence of denervation and revealed a rare combination of peripheral and central myokymia. " 01/01/1989 - "EMG recordings showed (1) continuous spontaneous repetitive discharges of NMU at a frequency of 30-50Hz, with duration of 1-2 seconds and amplitude of about 1 mV, were demonstrated at rest and the findings were consistent with myokymia, (2) waxing phenomenon was observed on repetitive peripheral nerve stimuli, which didn't improve by the tension test, and (3) high amplitude, long duration and polyphasic NMU, a sign of denervation, were observed on voluntary contraction. " 09/09/1989 - "Electrophysiological evaluation showed proximal multifocal conduction block and abundant spontaneous activity as fasciculations, myokymia and scarce denervation activity. "
5.	Thymectomy 07/01/1984 - "[Study on the pathogenesis of myokymia, hyperhidrosis and increased urinary excretion of catecholamine after thymectomy in Myasthenia gravis]."