Dystonia

Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder, in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. The disorder may be hereditary or caused by other factors such as birth-related or other physical trauma, infection, poisoning (e.g., lead poisoning) or reaction to pharmaceutical drugs, particularly neuroleptics. Treatment is difficult and has been limited to minimizing the symptoms of the disorder, since there is no cure available. These are the most common dystonias and tend to be classified as follows: The combination of blepharospasmodic contractions and oromandibular dystonia is called cranial dystonia or Meige's syndrome. Segmental dystonias affect two adjoining parts of the...