What does cataplexy look like?

What does cataplexy look like?

Cataplexy is sudden muscle weakness triggered by strong emotions like embarrassment, laughter, surprise, or anger. Cataplexy can cause your head to drop, your face to droop, your jaw to weaken, or your knees to give way. Attacks can also affect your whole body and cause you to fall down.

What does mild catatonia look like?

Catatonia has many symptoms, the most common of which include: stupor, where a person can’t move, can’t speak, and appears to be staring off into space. posturing or “waxy flexibility,” where a person stays in the same position for an extended period. malnourishment and dehydration from lack of eating or drinking.

How do I know if I have cataplexy?

Cataplexy happens when your muscles suddenly go limp or significantly weaken without warning. You may experience cataplexy when you feel a strong emotion or emotional sensation. This can include crying, laughing, or feeling angry. You may find yourself falling over or losing control over your facial expressions.

What mimics cataplexy?

Cataplexy mimics include syncope, epilepsy, hyperekplexia, drop attacks and pseudocataplexy. They can be differentiated from cataplexy using thorough history taking, supplemented with (home)video recordings whenever possible.

What is catatonia caused by?

It’s believed that catatonia symptoms may be caused and exacerbated by a dysfunction in the transmission pathways of serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, and GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid). In other words, something is getting in the way of the proper path these neurotransmitters typically take in the brain and body.

What is catatonic posturing?

Posturing – actively holding a posture against gravity. Mannerism – carrying out odd, exaggerated actions. Stereotypy – repetitive movements without an apparent reason. Agitation – for no known reason.

What is agitated catatonia?

Excited catatonia, a subtype of catatonia also known as delirious mania, is a neuropsychiatric syndrome characterized by rapid onset of delirium (altered sensorium, attention deficits, mental status fluctuations, and confusion), mania (grandiosity, emotional lability, decreased sleep, and psychomotor agitation), and …

Are catatonic patients aware?

Patients are fully aware and visual tracking is preserved. Overt signs of catatonia such as negativism and echophenomena may differentiate the two disorders, but more subtle presentations can make the two conditions difficult to distinguish[39].