Dystonia- A Largely Unknown Movement Disorder
Causes and Types of Dystonia and Whom it Targets
Jun 19, 2009
Dystonia is a relatively unknown illness and until recently, many general practitioners were unfamiliar with the condition. In recent years, the awareness of the neurological illness increased and several foundations were formed to assist people with information about the disease and create awareness and tolerance for the people suffering from its symptoms. One of these foundations is the Dystonia Society, a registered charity in the United Kingdom, which works toward the increasing of research on dystonia and the recognition and awareness thereof as disease.
What Causes Dystonia
According to the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation, the exact causes of dystonia are unknown, but the onset of dystonia in patients appears to have a connection to the basal ganglia in the brain not working properly. The basal ganglia is the area of the brain which controls movement. Scientists suggest that an imbalance of neurotransmitters leads to the inability to control muscle movements.
When the basal ganglia is damaged, such as by stroke, injury, or the use of certain drugs, it may also lead to the development of dystonia. In most cases, however, no underlying cause is found apart from possible genetic factors as dystonia which develops during childhood is often inherited through one or more affected genes.
Different Types of Dystonia
Dystonia can take on different forms depending on the area of the body affected. Focal dystonia, which is the most common form, means only one part of the body suffers from uncontrollable muscle movements. Each muscle group affected has a different name; for instance Cervical dystonia attacks the neck muscles causing the head to twist, pull in one direction or shake.
Other forms of Focal dystonia include:
- Blepharospasm causes the muscles around the eyes to twitch.
- Oromandibular dystonia where the muscles of the mouth, tongue and jaw are affected.
- Laryngeal dystonia, which affects the speech muscles
- Writer's cramp where the ability to write and sometimes other hand- based tasks are affected.
- Cranial dystonia or Miege's syndrome, which affects the muscles around the eyes and those in the jaw, tongue and mouth.
Segmental dystonia differs from Focal dystonia in that it affects two adjoining parts of the body such as the neck and an arm, whereas Hemidystonia affects the limbs on one side of the body. Multifocal dystonia affects various parts of the body.
Who is Prone to Get Dystonia?
Men and woman of all ages can suffer from dystonia. Dystonia which develops in childhood, is likely to be inherited through one or more affected genes and thus the chance of a child who has a parent afflicted by a certain type of dystonia to inherit the decease is roughly 50%. The child is likely to develop generalized dystonia if the disease starts during childhood.
Dystonia contracted during adulthood usually remains focal and is more common in people over the age of 40 years.
The progress of dystonia once it develops is unpredictable and the severity of the symptoms may vary greatly from patient to patient. An example of the severity of symptoms can be seen in this video on generalized dystonia. There is no known cure for dystonia, but the symptoms can be effectively managed with the use of drugs, botulinum toxin and surgery.
