Definition
Korea consists of anomalous involuntary, rapid, arrhythmic and unsuppressible movements, similar to jerks. This symptom mainly affects the distal musculature of the limbs, the face, the neck and the trunk, but it can also be generalized to the whole organism.
The chorea is due to the hyperactivity of some circuits of the basal ganglia, often due to inflammatory or degenerative lesions of the extrapyramidal motor nerve pathway.
Huntington's disease is the most common degenerative pathology that causes choreographic movements. However, these pathological movements can also be found in rheumatic fever (Sydenham chorea), in lesions of the central nervous system (inflammatory, vascular or tumor) and in various metabolic-endocrine disorders. A tumor or an infarct of the caudate nucleus can cause a unilateral (hemicorrhea) chorea. Other causes include thyrotoxicosis, neuroacantocytosis (McLeod syndrome), systemic lupus erythematosus and other autoimmune diseases.
Korea may also derive from exposure to toxic substances (eg thallium poisoning and carbon monoxide intoxication) and may be induced by certain drugs (eg antiepileptics).
Moreover, choreic movements can occur as an isolated symptom in patients over the age of 60 (corea senile); in this case, chorea tends to be symmetrical and is not associated with dementia.
Possible Causes * of Korea
- Cerebral hemorrhage
- Encephalitis
- Rheumatic fever
- Stroke
- Carbon monoxide intoxication
- Hyperthyroidism
- Cerebral ischemia
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
- Huntington's disease
- Parkinson's disease
- Infant Cerebral Palsy
- Spastic paraparesis
