Updated 05-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about ASTERIXIS!
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: asterixis is a tremor of the hand when the wrist is extended . the term derives from the Greek a, “not” and strixis, “fixed position” the term with a metabolic encephalopathy, the patient is unable to hold their hands back resulting in a “flapping” motion consistent with asterixis . it can be seen in chronic kidney failure, severe con unilateral asterixis may occur with structural brain disease . it can be a sign of hepatic encephalopathy, damage to brain cells . seen most often in drowsy or stupor it is also seen in some patients with kidney failure and azotemia . it can also be a feature of Wilson’s disease . some drugs are known to cause asterixis . first described asterixis in 1949 in patients with severe liver failure and encephalopathy . a jesuit classics scholar suggested “anisosterixis” but Foley shortened this to asterxis Adams introduced the term in 1953 by way of a medical abstract and later solidified its medical use as he was an author and editor of the widely influential Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine .