Asterixis
Medical condition / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Asterixis, more colloquially referred to as flapping tremor, is not actually a tremor but rather a negative myoclonus. This movement disorder is characterized by an inability to maintain a position, which is demonstrated by jerking movements of the outstretched hands when bent upward at the wrist (which can be similar to a bird flapping its wings, hence the name "flapping tremor"). [1][2]
The tremor is caused by abnormal function of the diencephalic motor centers in the brain, which regulate the muscles involved in maintaining position. Asterixis is associated with various encephalopathies due especially to faulty metabolism.[3] The term derives from the Greek a, meaning "not" and stērixis, meaning "support" or "stable position".