Right Hand And Right Leg

I'm not sure if this is the right forum. I'm desperately trying to find answers. So if am at the wrong place do be kind of enough to let me know.

My brother has this problem wherein his right hand and right leg goes out of his control for a few seconds and he fights it and gains control after a few seconds. Like for example, while he's walking his right hand and leg will just go out of control and will not want to co - ordinate with the left rather it will be more less like it has no life. And this does not have any particular time frame or intervals but sometimes it occurs twice in a day or sometimes once in a week.

I am really worried as to why this happens. And what might be the reason. I have tried to search it over the net but of no help.

Regards,
Louie

[Neuro Forum]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with your doctor.

Without the ability to examine your brother and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of his symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

There is a broad range of possibilities based on the limited description you provide above. Possibilities for the involuntary movements occuring on one side of the body include seizures (a certain type called focal motor seizures, which affect one side of the body with retained awareness), chorea (hemichorea, a certain type of dancing-like movement that has various causes), action dystonia (an abnormal contraction of the muscles, which if on one side of the body is called hemidystonia, though more often dystonia is constant rather than episodic), myoclonus (sudden jerks of the arm and leg, would be unusual to occur on just one side of the body), a type of abnormal movement called paroxysmal dyskinesia, which can be action-induced, and others. A phenomenon called alien-limb phenomenon, in which the limb seems to have a mind of its own, can also occur. These pathologies, when they occur on just one side of the body, could be due to a lesion in the opposite brain (R arm and body, L brain), though sometimes MRI of the brain does not show a brain lesion, depending on the diagnosis.

Evaluation by a neurologist for these episodes is recommended; since they only occur a few times a week, videotaping these episodes would be a good idea, so that when you go to the neurologist, he/she can see what the episodes look like if they are not occurting at the time of examination.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.