Akinesia

AKINESIA (from the Greek a- negative particle, and kinesis-movement), absence, lack of movement (paralysis), immobility; the opposite concept is hyperkinesia (intensified, increased movements, convulsions). The term A. is used to denote various deficiencies in movement, in the sense of their absence (strength, volume, speed, coordination of movements). Akinesia algera-painful immobility. The first description and name of this condition was given by Moebius in 1891. In akinesia algera, the patient does not move due to painful movements, but at the same time has no noticeable signs of organic disease. Sometimes patients remain in bed for a long time. The modern concept of A. algera is that it is not a disease, but a symptom complex (syndrome). A. algera is observed as a manifestation of hysteria, being psychogenetically conditioned, or as one of the manifestations of obsessive states, particularly fears, in psychasthenia, or as a result of neuropsychic exhaustion in neurasthenia; in addition to being part of the clinic of neuroses, A. algera may also enter the picture of psychosis (schizophrenia, paranoia, etc.), i.e., as a manifestation of delusions. The pathological anatomy of the disease has not yet been studied. The course is sometimes very persistent, lasting for years. Treatment- depends on the pathogenesis and diagnosis. Patients with manifestations of akinesia algera usually belong to hereditarily burdened neuropaths and psychopaths, with the character of closed, inaccessible schizoids; therefore psychotherapy (suggestion) in akinesia algera usually does not give the expected effect. Sometimes this disease gradually passes on its own.