DYSTONIA Causes | Symptoms | Treatments
Introduction To Dystonia Dystonia is a Neurological Movement Disorder that causes muscles to contract and spasm involuntarily causing pain, tremors, twisting and other uncontrollable movements. Dystonia can affect any part of the body including the arms, legs, neck, eyelids, face or vocal cords. Dystonia has no cure!
Causes of Dystonia There aren't any specific, identifiable causes of this condition. However, it is believed that this condition might be linked to damage to the basal ganglia, which is the part of the brain that is responsible for muscle contractions.
Symptoms of Dystonia The symptoms depend upon the area of the body that is affected by involuntary muscle cramp (muscle contraction). ďƒ˜
Eyelids. Rapid blinking or involuntary spasms causing your eyes to close (blepharospasms) can make you functionally blind. Spasms usually aren't painful, but might increase when you're in bright light, under stress or interacting with people. Your eyes might feel dry.
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Hand and forearm. Some types of dystonia occur only while you do a repetitive activity, such as writing (writer's dystonia) or playing a specific musical instrument (musician's dystonia).
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Voice box and vocal cords (spasmodic dystonia). You might have a tight or whispering voice.
Neck: This is also categorized in focal type. It is characterised by intense spasms of the neck muscles. It is also called cervical dystonia. Here the symptoms include twisting and trunking of the head to one side so violently that it may cause tremendous pain. Also, the head might move forward or backward involuntarily.
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Jaw or tongue (oromandibular dystonia). You might experience slurred speech, drooling, and difficulty chewing or swallowing. Oromandibular dystonia can be painful and often occurs in combination with cervical dystonia or blepharospasms.
Face: When the muscles of one side of the face suffer spasm, the condition is referred to as hemifacial spasm. This is also classified under the focal type. It seems to worsen under stress and fatigue .
Treatments of Dystonia
A trial of low dose Levo Dopa (62.5mg-100mg) 2-3 times daily is warranted High doses of Benzhexol (Artane) Start with 4-5mg/day and increase to 80 Tetrabenazine and Pimozide/Haloperidol Baclofen Clonazepam and Diazepam Botox Deep Brain stimulation
Diagnosis of Dystonia To diagnose dystonia, your doctor will start with a medical history and physical examination. To determine if underlying conditions are causing your symptoms, your doctor might recommend:
Blood or urine tests. These tests can reveal signs of toxins or of
other conditions. MRI or CT scan. These imaging tests can identify abnormalities in your brain, such as tumors, lesions or evidence of a stroke. Electromyography (EMG). This test measures the electrical activity within muscles.
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