Clinical analysis of akinesia

Abstract

Symptoms called akinesia in movement are analysed and classified into three groups. The first is that secondary to existence of marked rigidity of muscles and the second is that due to striatal dopamine deficiency, which simply be interpreted as "lack of movement". The third is freezing or festination in quick repetitive movement especially in gait, speech and handwriting, for which 1-Dopa therapy has no influence. Specific difficulty in the latter condition is found in the rhythm formation of repetitive movements when repetition is over 2 Hz, which the author named "hastening phenomenon converging into 5 Hz". However, the neural mechanism and pathology under the third group of akinesia is still not known. In most of the parkinsonian patients, it is considered that all three groups of akinesia are mixed together with variety of grade. Careful observations on the changes of clinical pictures through the course of 1-Dopa therapy and of stereotaxic surgery provided the analysis of so-called akinesia as described.