Athetosis Proposal
Important Information
Athetosis is a movement impairing disease that is caused directly by damage done to the putamen region of the basal ganglia in the frontal lobe. Other common causes involve damage to regions of the cerebrum that control motor function such as cerebral palsy, encephalitis, brain tumors and strokes. This damage to the basal ganglia leads to over-activity of this cerebral region that results in motor control inhibitions as the extra-pyramidal pathways are interfered with. Therefore, people with this disorder lose voluntary control over their distal extremities. Instead, the limbs move involuntarily in a series of slow and writhing motions. There is no true cure for Athetosis, however, drugs that lower dopamine levels or lower neuronal sensitivity to dopamine are likely to dull the symptoms.
Points – The article will be divided up into several sections, including:
- Symptoms
- Causes
- Treatments
- Link with Choreoathetosis
- Link with Cerebral Palsy
- Pseudoathetosis
- Social Implications
- References
- External Links
References – These are just links to a few of the resources that we will reference
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK394/
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/40947/athetosis
http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/blog/treating-athetosis.html
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-athetosis.htm
http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/sec06/ch091/ch091i.html
Dividing Work – The work will be divided up evenly between all three group members. Particularly, Brian will focus on Treatments, Link with Cerebral Palsy, and Pseudoathetosis. Ibrahim will focus on Causes and Link with Choreoathetosis. Finally, Hannah will focus on researching Symptoms and Social Implications. This, however, is not exclusive, and all members will work to improve the piece as a whole by adding to any areas that they see fit.