Which movement disorder is defined as athetosis plus chorea?

• A. Athetosis
• B. Chorea
• C. Choreoathetosis
• D. Dopamine-responsive dystonia

Answer: (C)

Recognizing when two movement patterns merge into one syndrome. Athetosis involves slow, continuous, writhing movements, often of the face and distal limbs, with relatively low tone. Chorea consists of rapid, irregular, jerky, dance-like movements that are not stereotyped. When both types of movements are present in the same patient, the term choreoathetosis is used. This label directly reflects the combination of the slow writhing (athetosis) and the quick, irregular jerks (chorea) seen together, indicating a single underlying disturbance in the basal ganglia circuits that regulate movement. Dopamine-responsive dystonia, by contrast, is a dystonia with diurnal variation that responds to L-dopa and is not defined by concurrent choreiform and athetotic movements.