[Incidence and characteristics of involuntary movements appearing spontaneously in the elderly].

Involuntary repetitive movements in which several muscle groups are involved are described in connection with several mental and physical syndromes. In this study those occurring in the elderly, when age seems solely to be influencing, are focalized. We found that 36.36% of the residents in an old people home had those symptoms. They were mostly buccolinguomasticatory, less intense but similar to those found in tardive dyskinetic patients. There was a tendency of increasing their incidence with age and sometimes they appeared together with other extrapyramidal manifestations such as parkinsonism. The possibility and importance of lack of balance between dopaminergic and cholinergic systems to explain those symptoms are discussed.