Myoclonus - an early sign?

mmediaman

Hello everyone,

I am new here too and as I can see, there is so much info here, its hard to digest.  I did a couple searches for Myoclonus and saw some discussions around it. However at the risk of being redundant, I wanted to ask if anyone knows whether Myoclonus is an early and clear sign of AD?

My 79 y/o mother-in-law is in late stage of AD and I notice pronounced Myoclonus with her  (right foot).   But whats terrifying me now, is I see mild Myoclonus with my wife (right foot) who is only in her 50s. 

I found the following statement "It may be present at rest, during voluntary movement (action-induced) or due to provoking stimuli such as sensory, visual, auditory or emotional cues." in article found here (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5575623/).  In my wife I see it happen almost always during emotional cues. 

If anyone has any experience or can comment on whether this is truly an early sign, I will sure appreciate any input.  This is all terrifying!

Arrowhead

I never heard of it so I looked it up on drugs.com. This link should lead you to it.

mmediaman

Thanks for the reply @arrowhead. 

While I understand that Myoclonus can be related to many disorders, even the article you point to mentions a relationship to Alzheimer's.

So I am specifically asking if anyone has any experience with Myoclonus being an early sign.

Thanks

Shalehr

My husband has Alzheimer's and experiences myoclonus on a daily basis. His Dr. thought it could be due to his meds. But with further research on my part, I have learned it is due to the plaque build up and is an unfortunate part of Alzheimer's disease. My husband was diagnosed with younger early onset. And didn't start what I call the "jumpies" until he progressed to later stages. Some days are worse than others, but it is debilitating. He has whole body myoclonus. Even though we've eliminated those meds that we thought was the cause, it changed nothing. They are for him like mini seizures. I hope you can find help with your mother in law. God bless.

Unknown By Man

I have dealt with them since I was a kid, though I have had MS since I was a child, Generally, when I showed my first signs when I was around six, my father and I thought it was restless leg syndrome, my mom was concerned and it turns out a couple of lesions on my spin which was then considered the cause. Mine mainly come into play when I am restless or about to fall sleep, or in a deep sleep. 

My mom did freak out cause she was also worried about the connection to AD, as my doctor told her and myself try not to worry so much about the unknown. 

Sharon E

I just joined this forum today.  My husband is diagnosed with AD and OD, has had symptoms for about 5 years.  Due to his age, we didn't suspect dementia until the symptoms were very pronounced.  He has myoclonus, and has had for a couple years.  He has had muscle twitching that is mild, and sometimes so severe that his hands fly up over his head.  Our neurologist offered little regarding the relationship between myoclonus and AD.  He did say, however, that it is possible that my husband is experiencing it because he has had shrinkage of the brain.  I would love to learn more about this.