Essential rhythmic palatal myoclonus in a 51-year-old man

Abstract

Essential palatal myoclonus is a rare movement disorder consisting of continuous rhythmic jerks of the soft palate; it usually develops secondary to brainstem or cerebellar disease called symptomatic rhythmic palatal myoclonus. Diagnosis is usually clinical, and some patients, however, fail to show evidence of a structural lesion like our patient called essential rhythmic palatal myoclonus. We report a 51-year-old man who has suffered from the condition and showed improvements on treatments.