Everything about Asterixis totally explained
Asterixis is a
tremor of the wrist when the wrist is extended (dorsiflexion), sometimes said to resemble a bird flapping its wings. Also called "
liver flap", it can be a sign of
hepatic encephalopathy, damage to
brain cells due to the inability of the liver to metabolize
ammonia to
urea. The cause is thought to be related to abnormal ammonia
metabolism. The term derives from the
Greek a, "not" and
stērixis, "fixed position".
Usually there are brief, arrhythmic interruptions of sustained voluntary muscle contraction causing brief lapses of posture, with a frequency of 3-5 Hz. It is bilateral, but may be asymmetric. Asterixis is seen most often in drowsy or stuporous patients with metabolic
encephalopathies, especially in decompensated
cirrhosis or
acute hepatic failure. It is also seen in some patients with renal failure and
azotemia, and in
carbon dioxide toxicity. It can also be a feature of
Wilson's disease.
R.D. Adams and J.M. Foley first described asterixis in 1949 in patients with severe liver failure and encephalopathy.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Asterixis'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://asterixis.totallyexplained.com">Asterixis Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
