Sydenham's chorea, also known as chorea minor and historically and occasionally referred to as St Vitus' dance, is a disorder characterized by rapid, uncoordinated jerking movements primarily affecting the face, hands and feet. St. Vitus' dance — Another name for Sydenham's chorea. St. Vitus was a fourth-century martyr who became the patron saint of dancers and actors during the Middle Ages. My doctor has never heard of it. He was also invoked for protection against nervous disorders, epilepsy, and the disease that bears his name. st. virus's dance, characterized by people suddenly going into convulsions, jumping around, and dancing, was also known as: tarantism "mass madness" is a general term that includes all of the following disorders common in the middle ages in europe EXCEPT: tarantism, lycanthropy, exorcism, or St. Vitus's dance Also called Sydenham's chorea. During the outbreak, afflicted individuals … In other times and other forms the mania started to be called St. Vitus' dance. It's named after the patron saint of dancers. St Vitus’s Dance – also called Sydenham’s chorea (= dance) and Huntington’s chorea – is one of a series of abnormal movement disorders known as diskinesias. St. Vitus dance: Another name for Sydenham chorea. My father had what was called St. Vitus Dance. A disorder in which dramatic muscle spasms can look like dancing. Pronounced As: kr, ko- or St. Vitus's dance, acute disturbance of the central nervous system characterized by involuntary muscular movements of the face and extremities. In 1374, on the streets of Aachen, Germany, people started dancing involuntarily. One of the most well-known major outbreaks took place in Aachen, Germany, on the 24 th of June 1374, just several decades after the Black Death swept across Europe. Father died at 45 by suicide. As unbelievable as it seems, it happened repeatedly in the area along the Rhine. The exchange occurred recently, although the association of the saint and his dance had a long evolution. During the Middle Ages, the church held that the dancers had been possessed by the devil or perhaps cursed by a saint. My symptons are shaking of my hands when I pick up anything. St. John’s Dance, known historically as St. Vitus Dance, was a social phenomenon involving a type of dance mania that gripped mainland Europe between the 14 th and 17 th centuries. I take Clonazepan 1mg twice daily. No shaking while at rest. St. Vitus is the patron saint of epileptics, dancers, and actors. In the current nomenclature Saint Vitus' dance or chorea (from the Greek χορεíα for dance) has been largely displaced by the eponym Sydenham‘s chorea. St. Vitus's Dance is a disorder of the nervous system that occurs following an A beta-haemolytic streptococcal infection. 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