Clinical Diagnosis and Management of Dystonia PDF

Preface

It is almost 100 years since the first clinical descriptions were made of cases of dystonia. In the ensuing century, the study of this protean movement disorder has undergone a turbulent evolution, with dramatic shifts in the views regarding its causation and phenomenology. Having been considered for a considerable period of time as a psychological or psychiatric disorder, the dystonias are now recognized to be, in the majority of cases, an organic neurological disorder.

The time, therefore, is fitting to take stock of our knowledge of the various conditions that we now recognize as dystonias. This is the primary aim of this volume. We have drawn together a series of monographs from world leaders in the field of dystonia. We hope that this book will lead the reader through the phenomenology and etiology of dystonia, to then describe specific forms. The final chapters summarise various medical and surgical treatment strategies for dystonia, including paramedical input, and the book concludes on how we can measure dystonia and its effects on quality of life.

By nature, a collection of chapters by numerous authors will contain some repetition, but we hope this has been kept to a minimum and, where it exists, is important for the issues being discussed.

We are very grateful for all the authors who contributed during the prolonged gestation of this book, and for the support they have given. The same applies to the families of the editors and publishers! Finally, both editors have benefited from working with two supreme clinical neurologists, whose contribution to the study of dystonia has been immense: the late David Marsden in London and Stanley Fahn in New York. Their energy and clinical skills in dissecting out the clinical and anatomical basis of dystonia has been inspirational.

We hope that this book will further encourage young neurologists and neuroscientists to focus their energies in the area of dystonia to take forward our understanding of this movement disorder in the next 100 years