Dyskinesia in an adult bichon frise

Abstract

Dyskinesias are disorders of the central nervous system that result in involuntary movements in a fully conscious individual. This report describes a disorder in a five-year-old male neutered bichon frise characterised by episodic involuntary skeletal muscle activity with normal levels of consciousness that bears some similarity to the previously described movement disorder in boxer puppies and to the human condition descriptively referred to as paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis. The disorder was differentiated from partial motor seizure activity by the character of the episodes, absence of identifiable preceding aura, absence of autonomic signs and the fact that multiple limbs were affected in a varying pattern without generalisation and loss of consciousness. Movement disorders are a well documented group of disorders in human neurology, but only rarely described in the veterinary literature. The purpose of this report is to contribute to an increased awareness of movement disorders within veterinary practice.