Fasciculations

Fasciculations are spontaneous twitching of muscle fibers. However, they do not cause movement of the muscle as a whole, but may be visible under the skin. They occur when the nerve or spinal cord is broken or as part of a benign syndrome of increased neuromuscular excitability (benign fasciculation syndrome). Benign fasciculations occur most often in the feet and calf muscles, rarely generalized. They typically worsen after physical or mental exertion, stress and higher caffeine consumption. Benign fasciculations can usually be suppressed by antiepileptics.

In needle EMG, it is not possible to reliably distinguish between benign and "malignant" fasciculations - the presence of other signs of a neurogenic lesion is crucial.

Tongue fasciculation occurs, for example, in bulbar syndrome, but does not rule out a benign (peripheral nerve hyperexcitability) cause.

Related articles

 * Bulbar syndrome
 * Cerebral Palsy in Children

Bibloography

 * VOKURKA, Martin a Jan HUGO, et al. Velký lékařský slovník. 9. vydání. Praha : Maxdorf, 2009. 1159 s.  ISBN 978-80-7345-202-5.
 * SHAIBANI,Aziz, A Video Atlas of Neuromuscular Disorders, New York: Oxford Press, 2014. ISBN 978–0–19–989815–2