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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffIn dystonia, muscles contract involuntarily — causing an uncontrollable twisting of the affected body part. Symptoms can be mild or severe, and may interfere with the performance of many day-to-day tasks.
Doctors divide dystonia into two broad categories, generalized or focal. If your symptoms begin during your youth, you could have a type of dystonia that's inherited and the symptoms may eventually affect the entire body (generalized).
Most cases of dystonia, however, occur in adults and tend to affect only one body part — often the neck, the face or an arm (focal).
Medications can sometimes improve dystonia symptoms, but inconsistently. In some more-severe cases, surgery may be used to disable or regulate certain brain regions or nerves.
- Dystonias fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dystonias/detail_dystonias.htm. Accessed Jan. 21, 2010.
- Tarsy D, et al. Dystonia. New England Journal of Medicine. 2006;355:818.
- Comella C. Treatment of dystonia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 18, 2010.
- Schwarz CS, et al. Genetics and treatment of dystonia. Neurologic Clinics. 2009;27:697.
- Dystonias. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec16/ch221/ch221c.html. Accessed Jan. 21, 2010.
- Ropper AH, et al. Abnormalities of movement and posture caused by disease of the basal ganglia. In: Ropper AH, et al. Adams and Victor's Principles of Neurology. 9th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3630437. Accessed Jan. 21, 2010.
- Complementary therapy. Dystonia Medical Research Foundation. http://www.dystonia-foundation.org/pages/complementary_therapy/156.php. Accessed Jan. 22, 2010.
- Ahlskog EJ (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Jan. 27, 2010.
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