FASAVA Congress 2017

Cats and dogs may develop a variety of unusual movement disorders that bewilder even the most seasoned clinicians because of difficulties in determining their neuro-anatomic origin and aetiology.
From life-altering tremors, to benign sleep-related muscle twitches, these movements are representative of a range of underlying neuropathology, toxicology, neuro-degeneration, or even normal behaviors.
In general, the study of movement disorders encompasses a wide range of neurologic disturbances characterized by excess (hyperkinesia) or reduced (bradykinesia) movements.
These abnormal involuntary movements refer to a number of muscle jerks, twitches, postures, and oscillations, that have been classified in human neurology with accepted terms, such as tic, chorea, tremor, dystonia, and myoclonus.
Many of these disorders are the result of neurodegenerative changes of the basal ganglia in people, a condition not well documented in non-primate species.
Many small animals exhibit a number of movement disorders that merit further investigation and possible therapy.
The purpose of this lecture is to review and discuss the clinical presentation of movement disorders in cats and dogs, with emphasis on tremors and fasciculations.