Asterixis Causes Symptoms and Treatment

What is Asterixis?

Asterixis is a type of movement disorder characterized by arrhythmic flexion movements of hands evoked by dorsiflexion of the wrists and outstretched arms. It is an involuntary tremor of the wrist loss of sustained contraction of the arms against ones will. It is produced by lapse of sustained posture. Mainly it causing hand tremors and the tremor occurs in both wrists and is not rhythmic characterized by metacarpophalangeal joints, jerky, irregular movements at the wrist and often accompanied by lateral movements of the fingers. Sometime this condition is called liver flap because it indicate brain damage or liver damage. Asterixis might be caused by kidney problems.

Causes of Asterixis: The common cause of asterixis is liver failure or it might be caused by the problems of kidney failure. This is called azotemia. Kidneys have trouble in filtering out nitrogen-based compounds. Other causes are DRUGS (ABC) like alcohol, anticonvulsant phenytoin and carbamazepine, respiratory failure, renal failure. It is also caused when too much carbon dioxide accumulates in the blood. These cause damage the brain or tremor.

Symptoms of Asterixis: It causing hand tremors which is occur in both wrists which include some symptoms like Irregular movement at the wrist jerky pain in joints, arm weakness. Asterixis is describing a motor disturbance which involves the tongue, jaw, eyelids, neck and arms. Other symptoms are brain damage and also caused by drugs.
Precautions: Sometime it occurs usually dosage of drugs. So, try to reduce the dosage of drugs take medicine after prescribed by doctor.

Treatment of Asterixis: For the better treatment only doctor can advise appropriate according to your disease. Doctor will identify the type of tremor and according to tremor he will start the treatment. The treatment will induced by psychopharmacologic agents being treated with combination therapy. Most often drug will used for asterixis.