Dystonia disorders cause involuntary movements and prolonged muscle contraction, resulting in twisting body motions, tremor, and abnormal posture. There are many forms of dystonia. Some types of dystonia respond to dopamine, or can be controlled with dedative-type medications, or surgery. Read more: Dystonia Article
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Dystonia See brain scan pictures of Alzheimer's and types of dementia See ImagesRelated Disease Conditions
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Muscle Spasms
Muscle spasms are involuntary muscle contractions that come on suddenly and are usually quite painful. Dehydration, doing strenuous exercise in a hot environment, prolonged muscle use, and certain diseases of the nervous system may cause muscle spasms. Symptoms and signs of a muscle spasm include an acute onset of pain and a possible bulge seen or felt beneath the skin where the muscle is located. Gently stretching the muscle usually resolves a muscle spasm.
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Stroke
A stroke is an interruption of the blood supply to part of the brain caused by either a blood clot (ischemic) or bleeding (hemorrhagic). Symptoms of a stroke may include weakness, numbness, double vision or vision loss, confusion, vertigo, difficulty speaking, or understanding speech. A physical exam, imaging tests, neurological exam, and blood tests may be used to diagnose a stroke. Treatment may include administration of clot-busting drugs, supportive care, and in some instances, neurosurgery. The risk of stroke can be reduced by controlling high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and stopping smoking.
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Brain Hemorrhage
A brain hemorrhage is a type of stroke caused when an artery bursts in the brain, causing localized bleeding in the surrounding tissue. Causes of brain hemorrhage include aneurysm, liver disease, brain tumor, head trauma, high blood pressure, and blood vessel abnormalities. Symptoms and signs include sudden severe headache, nausea, vomiting, loss of balance, tingling, numbness, vision changes, loss of consciousness, and loss of fine motor skills. Treatment depends upon the cause, location, and size of the brain hemorrhage.
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Stress
Stress is a normal part of life, but chronic or severe stress can be harmful to your health. Learn what happens in your body when you are stressed and how you can manage your response.
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Blindness
Blindness is the state of being sightless. Causes of blindness include macular degeneration, stroke, cataract, glaucoma, infection and trauma. Symptoms and signs may include eye pain, eye discharge, or the cornea or pupil turning white. Treatment of blindness depends upon the cause of the blindness.
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Tremors
Tremor is the involuntary movements of one or more parts of the body. Causes of tremor include neurological disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, drugs, mercury poisoning, overactive thyroid and liver failure. There are several types of tremor. Treatment depends upon the type of tremor and availability of medications for the condition.
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Fatigue and Exhaustion
Fatigue can be described in various ways. Sometimes fatigue is described as feeling a lack of energy and motivation (both mental and physical). The causes of fatigue are generally related to a variety of conditions or diseases, for example, anemia, mono, medications, sleep problems, cancer, anxiety, heart disease, and drug abuse.Treatment of fatigue is generally directed toward the condition or disease that is causing the fatigue.
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Anxiety
Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by symptoms such as trouble concentrating, headaches, sleep problems, and irritability. Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults. Treatment for anxiety may incorporate medications and psychotherapy.
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Depression
Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. The principal types of depression are major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disease (also called manic-depressive disease).
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Huntington's Disease
Huntington's disease is the result of degeneration of neurons in areas of the brain. Huntington's disease is an inherited disorder. Early symptoms include mood swings, apathy, depression, and anger uncharacteristic of the individual. Judgement, memory, and other cognitive functions may become impaired. Presymptomatic testing is available for individuals who have a family history of Huntington's disease. Treatment includes medication and therapy for symptoms.
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Stress Management Techniques
Stress may be considered as any physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental unrest and that may be a factor in disease causation. Managing stress in our lives is important. Elimination of stress is unrealistic, since stress is a part of normal life. We can however, learn to manage stress through techniques such as exercise, relaxation, meditation, time management, and support systems so that we have control over our stress and its effects on our physical and mental health.
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Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is an abnormality of motor function and postural tone acquired at an early age (even before birth). Cerebral palsy is generally caused by brain trauma. Types of cerebral palsy include: spastic, dyskinetic (dystonic or choreoathetoid), hypotonic, and mixed types. There is no cure for cerebral palsy, and treatment is generally managing the symptoms of the condition.
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Tardive Dyskinesia
Tardive dyskinesia occurs after exposure to certain types of medication. The most common medications that can lead to tardive dyskinesia include antipsychotic medications and antiemetics. Symptoms associated with tardive dyskinesia include tongue protrusion, lip pursing or smacking, grimacing, cheek bulging or puffing out, chewing actions, and eye closure. Early diagnosis and treatment of tardive dyskinesia are often successful in controlling the symptoms and even reversing the condition.
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Fitness
Regular physical activity can reduce the risk of disease. Regular exercise can also reduce the symptoms of stress and anxiety. There are fitness programs that fit any age or lifestyle.
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What Causes Laryngeal Dystonia?
As per research, laryngeal dystonia or spasmodic dysphonia is a neurological disorder usually caused because of an abnormal nervous system or a brain disorder. Spasmodic dysphonia most often affects women, particularly between the ages of 30 and 50 years.
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What Triggers Dystonia?
The exact triggers of dystonia are not entirely known. However, researchers believe it can develop from genetic mutations, as a side effect of medications or as a symptom of another disease.
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Is Dystonia a Form of Parkinson's?
Dystonia can be one of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD). PD is a long-term neurological movement disorder with various symptoms ranging from slowness of movement (bradykinesia), rigidity of muscles, tremor, loss of balance, memory impairment, personality changes and others.
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Can Dystonia Be Cured?
Dystonia cannot be cured completely, but treatments can help reduce symptoms and slow down progression of the disease.
Treatment & Diagnosis
Medications & Supplements
- botulinum toxin - injection, Botox, Botox Cosmetic, Dysport
- lorazepam
- clonazepam (Klonopin)
- diazepam (Valium, Diastat, Acudial, Diastat Pediatric, Diazepam Intensol)
- benztropine (Cogentin)
- carbamazepine, Tegretol, Tegretol XR , Equetro, Carbatrol, Epitol, Teril
- baclofen (Gablofen, Lioresal)
- carbidopa/levodopa - oral, Atamet, Sinemet
- benzodiazepines-oral
- bromocriptine (Parlodel)
- onabotulinumtoxinA, Botox, Botox Cosmetic
- Myobloc (botulinum toxin)
Prevention & Wellness
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