Articles

Focal Task-specific Dystonia—From Early Descriptions to a New, Modern Formulation

Frucht, Steven J.

Background: Vivid descriptions of the phenomenology of focal task‐specific dystonia (FTSD) date back to the late nineteenth century.

Methods: In this review, I summarize the natural history, phenomenology, and treatment of FTSD, focusing on nineteenth‐century neurologists' descriptions of the phenomenology, etiology, treatment, and mechanism.

Results: Examining these texts through a twenty‐first‐century lens, the “modern” ideas of a dystonic endophenotype, disordered physiology, and dystonic metabolic networks actually appeared in these texts more than a century ago.

Discussion: By incorporating these ideas with recent investigations, I present a new conceptual model for understanding this mysterious malady.

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Title
Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7916/D8VD6WHP

More About This Work

Academic Units
Center for Parkinson's Disease and Other Movement Disorders
Published Here
November 2, 2014