AD - Myoclonus connection

mmediaman

Hi All,

I asked about Myoclonus in the early AD message board but didn't get more than one response, so I apologize for also asking here. My mother-in-law is late stage AD and shows prominent and frequent right foot Myoclonus episodes. My wife shows very mild right foot Myoclonus (triggered by emotional moments) and I am wondering (fearing), whether it is an early sign of AD for my wife, who is only in her 50s. 

Thanks for any knowledge about this. 

My reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5575623/ 

Crushed

It is a known side effect of seroquel , my wife shows it when she takes the drug

what medications is she on ?

mmediaman

@crushed 

My wife is not on any meds.

Marta

Myoclonus is a common feature of Alzheimer’s disease, especially early onset. 

When myoclonus occurs as an early sign, the patient should be evaluated. Given that her mother has AD, it would be a good idea to get a baseline cognitive evaluation for your wife.

mmediaman

Thanks for the reply @Marta.  I wonder how best to approach this.  I know its going to alarm her as she was already scared of inheriting AD.

JJAz

There are many causes of myoclonus episodes, not just AD.  She should have an comprehensive evaluation.

gonegirl40

Hi-

   My DH has it as well-he is undiagnosed and only takes blood pressure medicine. I have scoured the internet because he was only 49 when it started and it coincided with a pretty serious stepdown in cognition. It is really bad at night and at first I thought we had rats or mice but then I realized it was his feet doing some kind of weird twitching or running every 20-25 seconds literally all night long. It was super scary at first because in the beginning he was way more active at night and yelling and scratching the bed and snoring in this scary howling way and talking and then all of a sudden it stopped and he totally stopped moving at all except for the constant twitching every 20 seconds and some occasional howling snoring noise-its crazy to sleep next to someone for 30 years that turns over normally and stretches or scratches their leg or talks in their sleep or snores loudly and then for them to just completely stop moving except for the constant twitching.  His dad is in end stage Alz but is 84 so I was surprised when he started showing symptoms of something so early, be it FTD, LBD, or ALZ. I believe the technical term is Periodic Limb Movement disorder if it happens at night and it can be a sign of low dopamine from what I can tell. If anyone knows anything at all please comment or message me. I just don't think there is any way this is all a coincidence.  He is 52 and his voice is almost gone, he is super stiff and can barely button his shirts with his right hand and has pale white hands and feet, has recently been let go at work for his memory loss, and I have started to notice the myoclonus random twitches during the day. It is just a crazy time and I just don't know what to expect next. I wish you well with your MIL and if you uncover any information please send my way or post here!!!

Thanks,

GG