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Markedly severe dystonia in Japanese encephalitis.

Encephalitis has been reported to be a rare cause of severe dystonia. We describe five patients with markedly severe dystonia from Japanese encephalitis. These patients with markedly severe dystonia were seen during the past 8 years as a subgroup of 50 patients with Japanese encephalitis. The diagnosis of markedly severe dystonia was based on increasingly frequent episodes of generalized dystonia with bulbar, respiratory, or metabolic derangement or leading to exhaustion or pain. The diagnosis of JE was based on clinicoradiologic features and a fourfold increase of hemagglutination-inhibiting antibody titers in paired serum. The outcome of the patients was defined as a good, partial, or poor recovery on the basis of 1-year clinical status. All the patients were males, and their ages ranged from 6 to 19 years. Movement disorders appeared 1 to 3 weeks after the illness as the level of consciousness started improving. During the next 1 to 4 weeks, patients began to experience markedly severe dystonia. It was associated with marked axial dystonia resulting in opisthotonus and retrocollis in five patients, jaw-opening dystonia in two patients, teeth clenching in one patient, and oculogyric crisis and neck deviation in another patient. The attacks of markedly severe dystonia lasted for 2 to 30 minutes and occurred as many as 20 to 30 times daily. Other developments included fixed limb dystonia in one patient, severe spasticity and rigidity in five patients, and focal muscle wasting in one patient. These patients had only a modest improvement after treatment. Markedly severe dystonia abated by 2 to 6 months in all the patients who were followed up. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging showed bilateral thalamic involvement in all patients, brainstem involvement in three patients, and basal ganglia involvement in two patients. At the 3-month follow-up, all patients had a poor outcome. At 1 year, one patient had a complete recovery; one had a partial recovery; and two were bedridden. It can be concluded that markedly severe dystonia is an important and serious sequela of Japanese encephalitis and may occur as the result of thalamus, midbrain, or basal ganglia involvement in various combinations.

Adolescent↗

Surgical therapy for dystonia.

Surgical treatments for dystonia have been available since the early 20th century, but have improved in their efficacy to adversity ratio through a combination of technologic advances and better understanding of the role of the basal ganglia in dystonia. The word "dystonia" describes a phenotype of involuntary movement that may manifest from a variety of conditions. Dystonia may affect only certain regions of the body or may be generalized. It appears to be critical to determine whether the etiology underlying the dystonia is "primary" (ie, occurring from a genetic or idiopathic origin) or "secondary" (ie, occurring as a result of structural, metabolic, or neurodegenerative disorders). Secondary dystonias are far more common than primary dystonias. Primary dystonias respond well to pallidotomy or deep brain stimulation of the internal segment of the globus pallidum, whereas secondary dystonias appear to respond partially at best. Limited historic and current data suggest that the thalamus may be a promising target for the treatment of secondary dystonias, but more careful, prospective, randomized studies are needed. Combinations of bilateral targets are possible with the current technology of DBS, but not widely used due to surgical morbidity and expense. This article reviews the surgical treatment of dystonia from past to present, with a focus on separating the outcomes for primary versus secondary and generalized versus cervical dystonia.

Animals↗

Psychogenic dystonia: a review of 18 cases.

OBJECTIVE: To review the clinical characteristics and associated features found in patients with psychogenic dystonia. METHODS: A 10 year retrospective chart review of all patients diagnosed by the author as having psychogenic dystonia. RESULTS: Eighteen patients fulfilled diagnostic criteria for "Documented" or "Clinically Established" psychogenic dystonia. Clinical characteristics of the dystonia were inconsistent or incongruous with established forms of organic dystonia. Fourteen of the 18 patients had a known precipitant. In most, the onset was abrupt and progression occurred rapidly, often to fixed dystonic postures. In contrast to idiopathic dystonia, involvement of the legs was common (12 patients), despite onset in adult life. Although cases of isolated paroxysmal dystonia were excluded in the review, 10 patients had paroxysmal worsening of dystonia or other abnormal movements. Pain was a prominent feature in 14 of 16 patients with the complaint and 1 patient with documented psychogenic dystonia also had well established reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD). Other psychogenic movement disorders, psychogenic neurological signs and multiple somatizations were common. Long-term follow up was available for less than one-half of the patients. Outcome varied considerably; some patients had complete resolution of symptoms (including 1 who had undergone 2 previous thalamotomies) and others remained disabled by persistent dystonia. CONCLUSIONS: Dystonia is uncommonly due to primary psychological factors. At times this is an extremely difficult diagnosis to make and even when the diagnosis is confirmed, management remains very challenging. Future studies are required in hopes of providing more efficient means of distinguishing psychogenic dystonia from other dystonic syndromes especially those which rarely follow peripheral injury or accompany RSD/causalgia syndromes.

Adolescent↗

Baclofen in the treatment of dystonia.

Dystonia refers to involuntary, prolonged muscle contractions leading to sustained, often twisting, postures. High dose anticholinergic therapy for childhood onset dystonia, botulinum toxin injections for focal dystonia, and levodopa for diurnal dystonia provide symptomatic relief for some patients. Despite this, treatment of both idiopathic and secondary dystonia remains inadequate for many patients. Baclofen, a pre-synaptic acting GABA agonist, has been reported to benefit dystonia in a number of retrospective studies. Dramatic improvement in symptoms, especially in gait, was found in almost 30% of 31 children and adolescents with idiopathic dystonia in one retrospective study using doses ranging from 40 to 180 mg daily. The response to baclofen of adults with focal dystonia is less dramatic. One series of 60 adults with cranial dystonia found sustained benefit in 18%. Smaller series have not consistently found significant benefit in adults. Baclofen has been used to treat several secondary dystonias: tardive dystonia has occasionally been reported to improve and there are isolated reports of improvement in dystonia occurring in Parkinson's disease and in glutaric aciduria.

Baclofen↗

Psychogenic dystonia.

Psychogenic dystonia has been a controversial diagnosis over the past century. While this entity does exist, it makes up the minority of cases of dystonia seen at specialized centres. The diagnosis of psychogenic dystonia must only be undertaken by a neurologist with considerable experience in the assessment and treatment of organic dystonia. Features in the history and physical examination will reveal both clinical inconsistencies and incongruities with organic dystonia that support a psychogenic cause for the patient's symptoms. Patients with psychogenic dystonia suffer from motor conversion disorder, and co-morbid depression, anxiety and disorders of personality are frequent. While there have been no neuroimaging studies to date in patients with psychogenic dystonia, imaging studies in patients with organic dystonia offer insights on how one might assess this problem using functional neuroimaging. Neurophysiologic studies in patients with organic forms of dystonia may also be employed to further distinguish psychogenic from organic dystonia when doubt exists. The prognosis of psychogenic dystonia is disappointing, with the majority of patients suffering significant long-term disability. Recommendations are given regarding disclosure of the diagnosis of psychogenic dystonia to the patient as well as appropriate treatment.

Dystonia↗

Deep brain stimulation in the treatment of secondary dystonia.

BACKGROUND: Dystonia is one of the most challenging movement disorders to treat. Medications and surgeries are the two methods to control dystonic symptoms. For patients with dystonia in whom symptoms are inadequately controlled with pharmacologic measures, the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) can improve symptoms and enhance functional capacity. The best candidate for DBS is believed to be primary generalized dystonia, especially the DYT-1 type. Here, we report 9 cases of secondary dystonia to explore the feasibility, indications and complications of DBS in the treatment of secondary dystonia. METHODS: From July 2003 to June 2006, nine patients with secondary dystonia underwent surgery at Beijing Tiantan Hospital. Among them, 2 were diagnosed as having tardive dystonia, 1 had posttraumatic dystonia, 3 had a history of perinatal anoxia, 1 had neonatal pathologic jaundice, and 2 had no exact contributory history; MRI showed bilateral lentiform nuclei degeneration in one patient. Six patients underwent bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN)-DBS, two underwent unilateral STN-DBS, the other underwent left STN and right globus pallidus internus (GPi)-DBS. RESULTS: With intraoperative microelectrode recording, the targeted nucleus was accurately localized. Tentative stimulation could decrease muscle tension to the same extent, but twisting was not obviously improved. Follow-up for 3 months to 3 years showed satisfactory results in 3 patients with tardive dystonia and posttraumatic dystonia and that Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Scale (BFMS) decreased by more than 90%. The improvement of symptoms was progressive along with time. The other 6 patients had slight to moderate improvement. None of them had severe surgery-related complications. One had lead fracture 16 months after surgery and the lead was then evacuated. CONCLUSIONS: DBS could be an ideal treatment for patients with tardive and posttraumatic dystonia. For patients with perinatal anoxia and diffuse impairment in the basal ganglia, DBS seemed not to be a good choice. STN could be an ideal target. Intraoperative microelectrode recording and mild amelioration of muscle tension are indicators of correct target location. No severe complications occurred.

Adolescent↗

Soleus H-reflex measures in patients with focal and generalized dystonia.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine neurophysiological characteristics of dystonia patients using electromyographic soleus H-reflex methods. METHODS: Thirty normal healthy individuals were compared to 27 patients with focal (cervical) or generalized dystonia. Three H-reflex assessment methods were included: the ratio of maximum H-reflex to direct muscle potential (H/M ratio); vibration inhibition (H(v)/H(c) ratio); and H-reflex recovery curves (HRRC). RESULTS: Average H/M ratios between groups were not statistically significant. The average H(v)/H(c) ratio for the generalized dystonia group was significantly greater than the focal dystonia and normal groups. Average values of the HRRC showed the generalized dystonia group had significantly greater disinhibition than the focal dystonia and control groups during the early inhibition phase. The HRRC for the focal dystonia group was greater than normal and more similar to the generalized dystonia group during the late phases of the recovery curve. The average value of the localized late facilitation phase for the focal dystonia group was significantly greater than the control group and less than the generalized dystonia group. No differences were observed between groups for the average localized late inhibition phase of the recovery curve. CONCLUSIONS: Soleus H-reflex measures identified neurophysiologic differences between generalized dystonia, cervical dystonia and normal conditions. SIGNIFICANCE: This methodology enables analysis of the underlying characteristics of dystonic pathologies using soleus H-reflex methods rather than upper extremity H-reflex techniques.

Adult↗

Long-term follow-up of levodopa responsiveness in generalized dystonia.

OBJECTIVES: To assign an accurate diagnosis to patients with dystonia based on the presence of sustained levodopa responsiveness and to determine whether motor fluctuations occur in patients with dystonia who are withheld from levodopa. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with generalized dystonia who responded to treatment in the 1970s with levodopa/carbidopa were surveyed by phone and then examined during a 3-day levodopa holiday. Functional imaging with fluorodopa positron emission tomography was performed on a subset of patients. RESULTS: In the phone interview, 4 of 7 patients with a diagnosis of dopa-responsive dystonia reported the wearing-off effect a short while (within 4-8 hours) after missing a dose of levodopa. Five patients with dopa-responsive dystonia were examined repetitively during levodopa withdrawal, and 3 developed recurrent symptoms of dystonia as the drug was withheld. In each case, worsening of dystonia did not occur until 29 hours or more after levodopa withdrawal, providing evidence for a response profile similar to the long duration response described in Parkinson disease. No significant changes were seen in the dystonia scores of the 3 patients with idiopathic torsion dystonia who were withheld from levodopa. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that the subjective feeling of wearing off experienced by our patients with dopa-responsive dystonia may have been for one of the nonmotor effects of levodopa, such as mood elevation. Our data provide objective evidence for the often-repeated assertion that motor fluctuations (analogous to those in levodopa-treated patients with Parkinson disease) do not occur in patients with dopa-responsive dystonia.

Antiparkinson Agents↗

The neurophysiology of dystonia.

Any model for the physiology of dystonia must be able to explain how dystonia can be produced in various circumstances. Brain lesions can cause dystonia; responsible sites include the basal ganglia, brainstem, and thalamus, but the most common site is the putamen. Dystonia can be hereditary, and genetic linkage has been found for both generalized and focal dystonia. The only genetic dystonia for which the gene product is known is Segawa disease, a hereditary progressive dystonia with marked diurnal fluctuation. The defect is in guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase I, a gene that makes a cofactor for the synthesis of dopamine, which explains why this form of dystonia should be amenable to treatment with levodopa. Another example of dystonia in which a disorder of dopamine pharmacology appears responsible is the dystonia occurring in Parkinson disease, either spontaneously or as a result of treatment. Curiously, the dystonia occurs at both peak and trough dopamine levels.

Animals↗

Atypical and typical cranial dystonia following dental procedures.

It is generally recognized that focal dystonia of the limbs or cervical region and blepharospasm sometimes follow, and in these cases may be caused or triggered by, peripheral injury. However, the association between peripheral injury and lower cranial dystonia is rare. We report eight cases who developed cranial dystonia within hours to months following a dental procedure. One group of five cases, all women, developed atypical dystonia associated with painful paresthesias at the site of dystonia. Two of these five cases had fixed jaw-deviating dystonia, whereas the remaining three had additional tremor and spread of their dystonia to involve the tongue in all three, and the lips and neck in two cases. These five patients are reminiscent of cases of limb causalgia-dystonia syndrome, which occurs after minor peripheral trauma and can spread. The remaining three cases developed more typical cranial dystonia following the dental procedure. There was no family history of dystonia or prior use of neuroleptics in any of the patients. The close association in time and location of the procedure and onset of symptoms suggests that the onset of the dystonia may have been caused by the dental intervention, but whether there is a causal relationship between the dental intervention and the development of the dyskinesias requires further epidemiologic studies.

Adult↗

Quality of life in focal, segmental, and generalized dystonia.

The objective of this study was to assess quality of life (QoL) in a community-based sample of people with various forms of dystonia and to identify the factors that predict QoL in dystonia. QoL was assessed using two generic questionnaires: the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 (SF36) and the EuroQol questionnaire. A host of demographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables were measured to identify the best predictors of QoL in dystonia. A comparison of EuroQol and SF36 scores with the norms for the general UK population of similar age showed that people with dystonia had scores indicative of worse QoL on all domains, particularly those related to physical and social functioning. The impairment of QoL was seen in all age groups and was similar for men and women. Compared to the focal dystonia group, participants with generalized dystonia scored significantly worse on all QoL measures. Participants who were unemployed also scored significantly worse. There was also a trend for younger and separated/divorced participants to score worse on QoL measures. A stepwise regression analysis revealed that functional disability, body concept, and depression were important predictors of QoL in dystonia. Dystonia influences various aspects of QoL, particularly those related to physical and social functioning. The impairment of QoL was greater for participants with generalized dystonia, those who were unemployed, younger, and separated/divorced. Functional disability, body concept, and depression were the best predictors of QoL in dystonia. Efforts to improve health care for people with dystonia should not only focus on management of the movement disorder but also consider modifying functional disability and negative body concept and depression that contribute to poor QoL in this disorder.

Adult↗

Acute dystonia induced by neuroleptic drugs.

About 2.5% of patients treated with neuroleptic drugs develop acute dystonia within 48 h of commencing therapy. The symptoms remit on drug withdrawal or following anticholinergic therapy. Acute dystonia can also be reliably induced in many primate species by neuroleptic treatment with comparable time course, symptomatology and pharmacological characteristics to those observed in man. In general, New World monkeys appear more susceptible to acute dystonia than Old World primates. It is at present not clear whether all primates, including man, would exhibit dystonia if a sufficiently high dose of neuroleptic was administered. Alternatively, some unknown, possibly species-specific or even genetic, factors may determine an individual's susceptibility to develop dystonia. Use of a rodent model of dystonia might enable more detailed analysis of biochemical correlates of dystonic behaviour. Whilst rodents do not exhibit overt dystonic behaviour after neuroleptic treatment, they may develop oral dyskinesias which bear a close pharmacological similarity to dystonia in man and primates. However, it is not known whether chewing induced by neuroleptic drugs in rats resembles acute dystonia in primates or whether this is another movement disorder possibly unique to rodent species. The pathophysiology of acute dystonia remains unknown, but may involve striatal dopaminergic and cholinergic function. In view of the close similarity between dystonia in man and other primates, studies on the mechanisms whereby neuroleptic drugs cause acute dystonic reactions in monkeys may give some clues to the pathogenesis of spontaneous dystonia in man.

Acute Disease↗

Deep brain stimulation in dystonia.

Renewed interest in stereotaxy for dystonia followed the introduction of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson's disease and essential tremor in the 1990s. DBS evolved from ablative surgery, which was applied with varying results in the 1950s in patients with movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, essential tremor and dystonia. The present review summarizes the current knowledge on clinical aspects of DBS in dystonia (Dec. 2002). Excellent results have been achieved in dystonic patients carrying a mutation in the DYT1 gene with improvements up to 90 %. Similar results may also be obtained in patients with idiopathic generalized dystonia, myoclonus-dystonia syndrome, and tardive dystonia. Substantial improvement has been observed in patients with focal dystonia (for instance cervical dystonia). Patients with secondary dystonia often display a lesser and more variable degree of improvement. Long-term studies are warranted to assess both motor and neuropsychological sequelae of DBS in dystonia. Furthermore, the optimal target for different dystonic disorders remains to be determined, although the globus pallidus internus has currently emerged as the most promising target for dystonia.

Dystonia↗

Dystonia in Parkinson's disease.

Dystonia can occasionally be found in idiopathic Parkinson's disease. It is very uncommon in untreated patients and is more frequently seen as a complication of its treatment. In this review, the various types of dystonia occurring in PD, the differential diagnosis with other parkinsonian syndromes associated with dystonia and treatments available are revised. Dystonia unrelated to treatment can be typical (blepharospasm, torticollis), atypical (parkinsonian writer's cramp, camptocormia, anismus), or occurring in earlyonset Parkinson disease (the so-called kinesigenic foot dystonia, considered a hallmark of early-onset Parkinson's disease). Early and prominent dystonia in untreated patients with parkinsonism should raise the suspicion of other entities other than Parkinson's disease, such as progressive supranuclear palsy, multiple system atrophy or corticobasal degeneration. In patients on chronic dopaminergic treatment, peak-dose dystonia, diphasic dystonia and off-dystonia can be seen. The later constitutes the major dystonic feature of chronic levodopa therapy, and a wide variety of strategies are available to manage this complication. Among them, deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus has proved to be the most effective one. Dystonic reactions (mainly involving oculomotor cranial nerves and limbs) in operated patients (especially carriers of deep brain stimulation (DBS) devices) are increasingly being reported, constituting a new type of dystonia in patients with Parkinson's disease: dystonia linked to surgical treatment.

Dystonia↗

Chronic stimulation of the globus pallidus internus for treatment of non-dYT1 generalized dystonia and choreoathetosis: 2-year follow up.

OBJECT: The authors studied the long-term efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the posteroventral lateral globus pallidus internus up to 2 years postoperatively in patients with primary non-DYT1 generalized dystonia or choreoathetosis. The results are briefly compared with those reported for DBS in DYT1 dystonia (Oppenheim dystonia), which is caused by the DYT1 gene. METHODS: Enrollment in this prospective expanded pilot study was limited to adult patients with severely disabling, medically refractory non-DYT1 generalized dystonia or choreoathetosis. Six consecutive patients underwent follow-up examinations at defined intervals of 3 months, 1 year, and 2 years postsurgery. There were five women and one man, and their mean age at surgery was 45.5 years. Formal assessments included both the Burke-Fahn-Marsden dystonia scale and the recently developed Unified Dystonia Rating Scale. Two patients had primary generalized non-DYT1 dystonia, and four suffered from choreoathetosis secondary to infantile cerebral palsy. Bilateral quadripolar DBS electrodes were implanted in all instances, except in one patient with markedly asymmetrical symptoms. There were no adverse events related to surgery. The Burke-Fahn-Marsden scores in the two patients with generalized dystonia improved by 78 and 71% at 3 months, by 82 and 69% at 1 year, and by 78 and 70% at 2 years postoperatively. This was paralleled by marked amelioration of disability scores. The mean improvement in Burke-Fahn-Marsden scores in patients with choreoathetosis was 12% at 3 months, 29% at 1 year, and 23% at 2 years postoperatively, which was not significant. Two of these patients thought that they had achieved marked improvement at 2 years postoperatively, although results of objective evaluations were less impressive. In these two patients there was a minor but stable improvement in disability scores. All patients had an improvement in pain scores at the 2-year follow-up review. Medication was tapered off in both patients with generalized dystonia and reduced in two of the patients with choreoathetosis. All stimulation-induced side effects were reversible on adjustment of the DBS settings. Energy consumption of the batteries was considerably higher than in patients with Parkinson disease. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic pallidal DBS is a safe and effective procedure in generalized non-DYT1 dystonia, and it may become the procedure of choice in patients with medically refractory dystonia. Postoperative improvement of choreoathetosis is more modest and varied, and subjective ratings of outcome may exceed objective evaluations.

Adult↗

[Deep brain stimulation in the treatment of dystonia].

Dystonia refers to movement disorders characterized by sustained muscle contractions that produce abnormal postures and twisting movements. First-line therapy for dystonia includes several classes of pharmacologic agents. Botulinum toxin injections are the treatment of choice for several forms of focal dystonia. Many patients with dystonia do not benefit from these treatments, and for those patients whose symptoms are sufficiently troublesome, surgical treatment can be used to reduce symptoms and to improve function. Formerly the ablative procedures of thalamotomy and pallidotomy were used. More recently, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has emerged not only as the preferred surgical treatment for advanced idiopathic form of Parkinson's disease and severe forms of essential tremor but also for dystonia. For dystonia, stimulation directed at the globus pallidus internus has been the most thoroughly studied to date. Advantages of DBS include its relatively non-destructive nature, its adjustability and reversibility, and its capacity to be used bilaterally in a single surgical session. Use of DBS to treat dystonia is a rapidly evolving area, and preliminary evidence suggests that primary dystonia linked to genetic mutation, especially DYT-1 positive generalized dystonia, and other primary dystonias respond most dramatically to treatment with DBS, whereas secondary dystonia tends to be less responsive.

Deep Brain Stimulation↗

[Dystonia in the child].

A classification of child dystonias is proposed as a guide to etiological diagnosis. The analysis of symptoms and signs provides a distinction between dystonia and other involuntary movements: dystonia is a tonic involuntary movement which appears during voluntary activity as a slow and involuntary movement. Two groups of child dystonic syndromes can be distinguished: 1) dystonic syndromes where dystonia is the main neurologic abnormality; they result mainly from toxic and anoxic disorders and from torsion dystonia; 2) dystonic syndromes with associated dystonia and intellectual impairment; they are often familial neurometabolic disorders. Analysis of child dystonias show some common features: a long interval between the causative brain lesion and the onset of dystonia is possible, and may last several years. In neuro-metabolic disorders also dystonia appears after the first year of life, when psycho-motor impairment has already appeared. Etiologic investigations can provide a diagnosis and sometimes a treatment in several varieties of dystonia, e. g. L-Dopa in torsion dystonia, correction of metabolic disturbance in Wilson disease or glutaric aciduria. Genetic counselling should be provided.

Child↗

Prevalence study of primary dystonia in Iceland.

In Iceland, the crude prevalence for all types of primary dystonia was 37.1/10(5) (confidence interval, 30.4-44.9). Focal dystonia had the highest prevalence (31.2/10(5)), followed by segmental (3.1/10(5)), multifocal (2.4/10(5)) and generalized dystonia (0.3/10(5)). Cervical dystonia was the most common focal dystonia (11.5/10(5)), followed by limb dystonia (8.0/10(5)), laryngeal dystonia (5.9/10(5)), blepharospasm (3.1/10(5)), and oromandibular dystonia (2.8/10(5)). The male:female ratio for all patients was 1:1.9 (P=0.0007), and females outnumbered males in all subtypes except oromandibular dystonia. Mean age of onset for all patients was 42.7 years (range, 3-82 years). This prevalence of primary dystonia is higher than in most reported studies, possibly because of more complete ascertainment but the relative frequencies of dystonia subtypes is similar.

Adult↗