Treatment of hyperkinetic movement disorders

Movement disorders are subdivided based on a variety of criteria. One useful and popular approach to movement disorders, based on clinical phenomenology, categorizes these disorders into two groups, those displaying a poverty of movement (akinesia) and those displaying excessive movement (hyperkinesia). This article discusses diagnosis and treatment of the latter. By necessity, certain hyperkinesias such as hyperexplexia, akathisia, and restless leg syndrome are omitted or only briefly discussed. The major hyperkinesias, dystonia, tremor, tics, chorea (including tardive dyskinesia and ballism), and myoclonus are reviewed and a guide to practical management emphasizing symptomatic treatment is presented.