Dystonia is a disease of the nervous system that causes you to involuntarily perform abnormal movements. It can lead, inter alia, to tilt the head to the side and twist it in the opposite direction. What are the causes and symptoms of dystonia? What is the treatment of this disease?
Dystonia - causes
The cause of dystonia are disturbances in the functioning of nerve connections within the so-called subcortical nuclei. These are deeply located brain structures that are responsible for maintaining proper body posture and control every movement (expertly the extrapyramidal system).
Disorders of this system may occur as a result of brain trauma, brain tumor growth, cerebral ischemia or cerebral hemorrhage. Then we are talking about secondary dystonia.
Dystonia may also appear in the course of neurodegenerative diseases, e.g. in Wilson, Huntington, Parkinson, and mitochondrial diseases.
If the underlying cause of the disease is unknown or genetic, it is referred to as primary dystonia.
Dystonia - types and symptoms of dystonia
1. Focal dystonia
Focal dystonia only affects one part of the body, e.g. muscles around the eye, facial muscles, neck muscles, muscles of one limb:
- cervical dystonia (torticollis) is manifested by tilting the head to the side and twisting it in the opposite direction (the patient looks as if he is looking at the top corner), the accompanying symptom may be shaking or even head shaking
- blepharospasm affects the facial muscles surrounding the eye - the disease manifests itself with frequent and gradually increasing blinking, and eventually the eyelids tighten involuntarily; blepharospasm leads to partial or complete blindness, despite the fact that the organ of sight is functioning properly
- oro-mandibular dystonia involves the muscles of the lower face, jaw, tongue and mouth - apart from the incorrect position of the mouth, mandible and / or tongue, patients complain of speech difficulties, biting the tongue and cheek mucosa, drooling, and later swallowing disorder
- Meige's syndrome is a combination of blepharospasm and oromandibular dystonia
- hemifacial contraction manifests itself by frequent, repetitive, short-term contraction of the muscles of one half of the face
- laryngeal dystonia affects the muscles of the larynx and vocal cords
- writer's cramp affects the muscles of the hand andforearm and appears when the patient is about to try to write, where the same dystonia group includesmusicians' dystonia -involuntary muscle contractions occur when playing different instruments
2. Segmental dystonia
Segmental dystonia involves several adjacent muscles, such as the neck and upper limb.
3. Half dystonia
The disease affects the muscles of one half of the body (the upper and lower parts of the same side of the body).
4. Focal dystonia
Focal dystonia affects the muscles of several different parts of the body.
5. Generalized dystonia
Generalized dystonia is the most extensive form of dystonia because it affects most of the body, especially the limbs and torso.
Dystonia - diagnosis
In order to diagnose the disease, an EMG (electromyography) test is performed. Sometimes genetic tests are performed to confirm the disease.
Dystonia treatment
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a complete cure for dystonia. You can only alleviate its symptoms by:
- treatment with botulinum toxin - botox inhibits the places of connection of nerves with muscles, and thus - inhibits the transmission of nervous stimulation from the nerves to the muscles;
- Oral medications - they inhibit the neurotransmitters that regulate the transmission of information in the brain or reduce the tone of dystonically contracted muscles. They can also reduce tremors or reduce muscle spasms;
- surgical treatment that involves placing thin electrodes in the brain that are connected to a neurostimulator placed in the subcutaneous tissue;
