Physiologic analysis of the myoclonus of Alzheimer's disease

Abstract
Ten patients with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer9s disease, including three cases of trisomy 21(Down9s syndrome), developed a chronic myoclonic disorder. The technique of jerk-locked averaging of EEG activity wasused to analyze the myoclonus. Seven subjects demonstrated a focal, contralateral central, negative cerebral potential antecedent to the myoclonic jerks. This EEG event differs from that previously reported to be associated with the myoclonus of subacute spongiform encephalopathy (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease).