The key difference between akinesia and dyskinesia is that akinesia is a symptom that causes the loss of voluntary muscle movement, while dyskinesia is a symptom that causes uncontrollable muscle movement.
Individuals may contract different muscular-related disease conditions due to various causes. Parkinson’s disease is one such type of disease condition that causes abnormal muscular movement. Apart from that, several other disease conditions also cause the loss of normal muscular functionality and movement in individuals. Akinesia and dyskinesia are two disease symptoms that occur in relation to a major disease that causes movement difficulties.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Akinesia
3. What is Dyskinesia
4. Similarities – Akinesia and Dyskinesia
5. Akinesia vs Dyskinesia in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Akinesia vs Dyskinesia
What is Akinesia?
Akinesia is a disease symptom that causes a person to lose voluntary muscle movement. This symptom is mostly related to Parkinson’s disease, which results in loss of muscle control. This condition can occur at any stage of life, but in Parkinson’s disease, akinesia occurs as a very late symptom as the disease progresses.
The symptoms related to akinesia include difficulty in starting to walk out or move, muscle rigidity in the neck, legs, and face, and inability to move the feet properly, especially when walking and trying to turn or approach a destination. There are few causative factors for the development of akinesia. They are Parkinson’s disease, medication-induced Parkinson’s-like symptoms, progressive supra nuclear palsy, and hormone level fluctuations. The risk factors for akinesia include problems related to muscle rigidity, a history of bradykinesia or slowed muscle movements, having Parkinson’s disease for a long time, and postural instability. Medication for akinesia depends on the reason behind the symptom developed in the individual and varies accordingly.
What is Dyskinesia?
Dyskinesia is a symptom of a disease where muscular movement occurs in an uncontrollable manner. This type of muscular movement can occur in one part of the body, such as a slight movement of the head, arm, or leg, or it may affect the entire body. The frequency of occurrence and the time of occurrence vary along with the severity of the disease. This disease ranges from mild to severe levels and can have a direct effect on the quality of life and the inability to function in daily activities.
The symptoms of dyskinesia vary from individual to individual. These symptoms include fidgeting, wriggling, bobbling of the head, swaying of the body, restlessness, and twitching. Dyskinesia can occur as a symptom of Parkinson’s disease or due to long-term intake of levodopa treatment and antipsychotic medication. Levodopa causes Levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID), and antipsychotic drugs cause Tardive dyskinesia (TD). Treatment can be a different option based on the root cause. If it is LID, adjusting levodopa doses will reduce the severity of the symptoms and, similarly TD.
What are the Similarities Between Akinesia and Dyskinesia?
- Akinesia and dyskinesia are two types of disease symptoms involved with Parkinson’s disease.
- Both akinesia and dyskinesia cause abnormal muscle movement.
- Moreover, they can occur at any stage of life.
- They are treatable with different medications.
What is the Difference Between Akinesia and Dyskinesia?
Akinesia is a disease symptom that causes the loss of voluntary muscle movement, while dyskinesia is a disease symptom that causes uncontrollable muscle movement. Thus, this is the key difference between akinesia and dyskinesia. Moreover, akinesia may occur in the fetus, while dyskinesia does not occur in the fetus. Also, symptoms of akinesia include difficulty in starting to walk out or move, muscle rigidity in the neck, legs, and face, and inability to move the feet properly. Whereas, symptoms of dyskinesia include fidgeting, wriggling, bobbling of the head, swaying of the body, restlessness, and twitching.
The below infographic presents the differences between akinesia and dyskinesia in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Akinesia vs Dyskinesia
In akinesia, the loss of voluntary muscle movement is seen, while in dyskinesia, uncontrollable muscle movement can be seen. Causes for akinesia include Parkinson’s disease, medication-induced Parkinson-like symptoms, progressive supra nuclear palsy, and hormone level fluctuations. Symptoms related to akinesia include difficulty starting to walk out or move, muscle rigidity in the neck, legs, and face, and inability to move the feet properly. Symptoms of dyskinesia include fidgeting, wriggling, bobbling of the head, swaying of the body, restlessness, and twitching. While both are symptoms that occur due to Parkinson’s disease, various treatment mechanisms are available to cure the symptoms. So, this summarizes the difference between akinesia and dyskinesia.
Reference:
1. Jewell, Tim. “Akinesia: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments.” Healthline, Healthline Media.
2. Wells, Diana. “Dyskinesia: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment.” Healthline, Healthline Media.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Blausen 0704 ParkinsonsDisease” By Blausen.com staff (2014). “Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014”. WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 2002-4436. – Own work (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
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