Father died at 45 by suicide. 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. In other times and other forms the mania started to be called St. Vitus' dance. First it was my right hand and now my left hand. During the Middle Ages, the church held that the dancers had been possessed by the devil or perhaps cursed by a saint. My father had what was called St. Vitus Dance. St. Vitus is the patron saint of epileptics, dancers, and actors. 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. 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. My doctor has never heard of it. 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. Sydenham's chorea results from childhood infection with Group A beta-haemolytic Streptococcus and is reported to occur in 20–30% of people with acute rheumatic fever. St. Vitus was a fourth-century martyr who became the patron saint of dancers and actors during the Middle Ages. 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 He was also invoked for protection against nervous disorders, epilepsy, and the disease that bears his name. St. Vitus's Dance is a disorder of the nervous system that occurs following an A beta-haemolytic streptococcal infection. I have fallen several times in the yard without injury. 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. No shaking while at rest. 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. During the outbreak, afflicted individuals … The exchange occurred recently, although the association of the saint and his dance had a long evolution. As unbelievable as it seems, it happened repeatedly in the area along the Rhine. This phenomenon is called dance mania, the dancing plague, or St John's Dance (sometimes St. Vitus' Dance) as it was considered to be a curse sent by a saint. St. Vitus dance: Another name for Sydenham chorea. Also called Sydenham's chorea. 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