Dystonia

Alternative Names

Dystonia, Involuntary slow and twisting movements, Choreoathetosis, Leg and arm movements - uncontrollable, Arm and leg movements - uncontrollable, Slow involuntary movements of large muscle groups, Athetoid movements, Muscle Tone Disorder

What is Dystonia

Dystonia is a medical term that describes potentially crippling disorder that triggers involuntary spasms and contractions.

There was an opinion that dystonia is a condition that is caused by underlying problems with the brain and nervous system. However people who have this disorder commonly do not have abnormalities with intelligence, memory and language. The movements are usually repetitive and often painful.

Dystonia can affect only one muscle or a group of muscles. There are five main types of dystonia:

• focal dystonia – only a single body part is affected, such as the hand or eyes
• segmental dystonia – two or more connected body parts, such as the neck and shoulder are affected
• multifocal dystonia – affects two or more parts of the body that aren't connected to each other, such as the left arm and left leg
• generalised dystonia – both legs and other parts of the body are affected, usually one arm or both arms
• hemidystonia – dystonia that affects half of the entire body

Signs and symptoms

The most common symptoms of dystonia include:

• beginning in a single region such as your foot or hand.
• occuring with a specific action
• worsen with stress, fatigue or anxiety
• plateau within a few years

Possible complications

Dystonia can cause the following complications:

• permanent physical deformities
• physical disabilities that can affect your ability to perform day-to-day activities
• functional blindness from dystonia that affects the eyelids (blepharospasm)
• a hoarse voice from dystonia of the vocal cords (spasmodic dysphonia)
• social misunderstanding, because some people suspect that mental illness or mental retardation is the cause of disordered movement
• sain and fatigue, because the constant contraction of muscles is somewhat like a sustained workout

What causes

In most cases there is no a specific cause. Acquired dystonia is triggered by damage to the basal ganglia. The damage can be caused by:

• brain trauma
• stroke
• tumor
• oxygen deprivation
• infection
• drug reactions
• poisoning caused by lead or carbon monoxide

In some cases dystonia may be inherited.

The other triggers may include:

• cerebral palsy
• drug side effects
• encephalitis
• genetic diseases
• hepatic encephalopathy
• huntington's disease
• stroke




Prevention

In most cases dystonia is unpreventable. You can try to protect yourself by avoiding certain drugs. Several drugs can cause dystonia in some people. These drugs, such as neuroleptics and many of the anti-emetics drugs, block receptors for the neurotransmitter dopamine. Neuroleptics are used to treat certain psychiatric conditions and tics.




Treatment

You should discuss the treatment with your doctor. There is no special cure for dystonia. However you can improve your health condition by means of:

• medication – such as levodopa to increase levels of dopamine (a chemical that affects voluntary movement) in the brain; botulinum toxin which stops muscle spasms; muscle relaxants such as diazepam
• physical therapy – to try to improve posture and stop muscles from weakening
• surgery – cutting nerve endings that are causing spasms (selective peripheral denervation) or using a small pulse generator implanted under your skin to block nerve impulses (deep brain stimulation)