What causes myoclonus? There are a number of causes of myoclonus. Drugs can occasionally cause significant myoclonus. Myoclonus may develop in response to infection, head or spinal cord injury, stroke, brain tumors, kidney or liver failure, lipid storage disease, chemical or drug poisoning, or other disorders. Prolonged oxygen deprivation to the brain, called hypoxia, may result in posthypoxic myoclonus. Myoclonus can occur by itself, but most often it is one of several symptoms associated with a wide variety of nervous system disorders. For example, myoclonic jerking may develop in patients with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Myoclonic jerks commonly occur in persons with epilepsy, a disorder in which the electrical activity in the brain becomes disordered leading to seizures. In some cases the conidtion may be hereditary. Some patients have myoclonus as a part of a widespread brain disorder including changes in thinking and memory and often, epileptic seizures. In others, myoclonus relates to an underlying brain or spinal cord disorder or injury. http://neurology.health-cares.net/myoclonus-causes.php