Dystonia is a term used to describe involuntary muscle movements and sustained contractures. Abnormal muscle tone is present. Twisting, jerking movements and/or repetitive body movements are classic signs of dystonia. Abnormal posture and tremors may accompany dystonia.

The cause of dystonia is not clear. When this symptomatology occurs without any known cause, it is called idiopathic dystonia.

Other known causes of dystonia are medication, head injury, brain damage, stroke, and neurological conditions (Wilson’s disease and multiple sclerosis).

Dystonia can affect children and adults alike; thus, dystonia can be classified as early-onset dystonia versus late-onset dystonia.

Types:

1) Focal dystonia

2) Segmental dystonia

3) Multi-focal dystonia

4) Hemi-dystonia

5) Generalized dystonia

There was an interesting medical show I saw on Discovery Health (Season 3, Episode 308) which showcased a couple who have twin children who developed symptoms of dystonia at very early ages; both children were diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 20 months of age. One of the twins, a daughter, was more severely affected than her twin brother.

Years passed, and the symtpoms progressively got worse. It was horrible to see how devastating the illness was on the children as their parents watched in quiet despair. Then one day their mother came across an old article about cerebral palsy which talked about a particular form of dystonia called Segawa’s dystonia.

The distinctive and telling symptom of Segawa’s dystonia is that the patient functions better in the mornings (referred to as dystonia with diurnal variability or fluctuation) and then gets worse as the day progresses.

Segawa’s dystonia responds to medication and falls into a classification called Dopa-Responsive Dystonia (DRD). Fortunately for the aforementioned children, they received Sinemet (Carbidopa-Levodopa) with amazingly quick results.

This is an amazing story about twins Noah and Alexis Beery. There is a video you’ll want to see which shows the dramatic before-and-after changes once they received treatment with Sinemet:

mms://thebeerys.com/media/godsmiracle1.wmv

Be sure to add the drug Sinemet (Carbidopa-Levodopa) to your drug book and Segawa’s dystonia to your list of medical terms.

Here’s the link to the Discovery Health website:
Segawa’s dystonia (Season 3, Episode 308)