BACKGROUND Dystonias are hyperkinetic movement disorders characterized by involuntary muscle contractions resulting in abnormal torsional movements and postures. Recent neuroimaging studies in idiopathic craniocervical dystonia (CCD) have uncovered the involvement of multiple areas, including cortical ones. Our goal was to evaluate white matter (WM) microstructure in subjects with CCD using dif...

Traditionally, the pathophysiology of cervical dystonia has been regarded mainly in relation to neurochemical abnormities in the basal ganglia. Recently, however, substantial evidence has emerged for cerebellar involvement. While the absence of neurological "cerebellar signs" in most dystonia patients may be considered at least provoking, there are more subtle indications of cerebellar dysfunct...

BACKGROUND The sensory trick or geste antagoniste is a cardinal feature of cervical dystonia. Patients are often aware of their tricks, using them to their advantage to temporarily improve dystonic symptoms. The typical sensory trick must be internally generated by the patient in order to be effective, and external mechanical pressure alone may not be sufficient. METHODS We present a case des...

Background Systematic perceptual distortions of tactile space have been documented in healthy adults. In isolated focal dystonia impaired spatial somatosensory processing is suggested to be a central pathophysiological finding, but the structure for different body parts has not previously explored. Objectives The objective this study was assess organization with novel behavioral paradigm distan...

Dystonia is a common movement disorder. A number of monogenic causes have been identified. However, the majority of dystonia cases are not explained by single gene defects. Cervical dystonia is one of the commonest forms without genetic causes identified. This pilot study aimed to identify large effect-size risk loci in cervical dystonia. A genomewide association study (GWAS) was performed. Bri...

Cervical dystonia is the most common form of focal dystonia (Dashtipour et al., 2007). It is characterized by involuntary movement of the neck resulting in abnormal neck posture (Brin & Benabou, 1999; Dent, 2002). Cervicalgia and headache sometimes occur in patients suffering from the disease (Albanese, 2005; Brashear, 2004, Schim, 2006). A critical long-term sequelae of this kind of movement d...

OBJECTIVE To study the reliability of the diagnosis of blepharospasm, oromandibular dystonia, cervical dystonia, and writer's cramp among neurologists. METHODS 12 patients with adult onset focal segmental dystonia were videotaped in a standardised way. The tape was sent to six neurologists who are involved in clinical practice without a specific interest in movement disorders (general neurolo...

OBJECTIVE To perform an evidence-based review of the safety and efficacy of botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) in the treatment of movement disorders. METHODS A literature search was performed including MEDLINE and Current Contents for therapeutic articles relevant to BoNT and selected movement disorders. Authors reviewed, abstracted, and classified articles based on American Academy of Neurology cr...

Muscle ultrasound (MUS) is increasingly used by neurologists, neuropediatricians, neurosurgeons, specialized radiologists and anaesthesiologists for the imaging-supported diagnosis of neuromuscular disorders. Especially, MUS highly sensitive in detecting fasciculations motor neuron diseases, revealing intensive care unit acquired weakness. Hereditary inflammatory myopathies are associated with ...