Palatal Myoclonus

Myoclonus is a condition that is experienced by many people. This condition is characterized by a brief movement of involuntary twitches in a muscle or group of muscles. There are different types of myoclonus that cause many annoying conditions in people affected. Not all involuntary muscle jerks are serious. Yet those that occur as a result of neurological and nervous system disorders, are considered to be serious. Hiccups for example is a type of harmless myoclonus. Sleep myoclonus too falls in the same category. However, myoclonus dystonia is a serious involuntary muscle jerk condition, that can affect the daily life of a person. One such annoying and debilitating condition is palatal myoclonus.

What is this Condition?
If you feel a constant rhythmic muscle contraction in the roof of the mouth or palate, then you may suffer from this condition. In medical terms, it is the rapid contraction or spasm occurring in the muscles in the roof of the mouth. This is a very rare disorder that can present itself as an unilateral or bilateral rhythmic involuntary movement of the soft palate. This means it may involve just one side of the muscles in the back of the mouth known as unilateral palatal myoclonus. If it affects both sides of the mouth, it is known as bilateral palatal myoclonus. In most cases, it is considered to be a minor problem. Other muscles are also involved with contractions. These include the muscles of the tongue, throat and diaphragm.

These include the ordinary and the essential palatal myoclonus. The former occurs due to lesions in the brainstem. The cause of the latter is not very clear and occurs mostly in the age group of 30 to 40 years.

Causes
The exact cause is still unclear. It is suspected, the causes includes infections, head injuries, major organ failure like kidney, etc. It often occurs due to the lesions on the central tegmental tract. One of the most common causes includes lesions on the brain, nerve pathway and other conditions like multiple sclerosis.

Symptoms
The symptoms include feeling of rapid muscle contractions within the roof of the mouth. At times, one may experience over 150 contractions/minute. These contractions continue to occur even in sleep. These contractions can cause a clicking or popping sound in the ear. These sounds may prove to be annoying for the patients.

Treatment
There is no specific treatment that is said to work. However, when the condition causes pain and interferes with their daily lives, medications are prescribed. Mostly, clonazepam is the medication given to such patients. Sometimes, epilepsy drugs are also considered to be useful for treating this condition.

This is an extremely rare conditions and if it occurs, speak to a doctor.