DMRF Supports Young Scientists By Co-sponsoring Grants with Dystonia Coalition
2010 Career Development Awards Focus on Treatment Advances & Patient Quality of Life

The Dystonia Medical Research Foundation (DMRF) is pleased to announce the co-funding of two Career Development Awards as part of its partnership with the Dystonia Coalition. The Dystonia Coalition is a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded collaboration of scientists, institutions, and patient organizations formed to advance the pace of clinical research for dystonia, the third most common movement disorder.

The Dystonia Coalition's Career Development Award Program supports junior investigators in their pursuit of clinical research projects relevant to dystonia.  The award is geared toward advanced post-doctoral clinical research fellows, senior clinical fellows, or junior faculty members who will be independent investigators within 1-2 years.  The DMRF supports this program as part of its ongoing commitment to encourage and inspire young investigators to establish careers in the field of dystonia.

In his project entitled "Sensory and Emotional Processing in Psychogenic Dystonia: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study" Dr. Alberto Espay at the University of Cincinnati is using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look for differences in brain circuit abnormalities between patients with idiopathic dystonia and psychogenic dystonia. This could lead to the discovery of biomarkers that distinguish these two disorders, which could aid in diagnosis and guide treatment.

Dr. Mateusz Zurowski at Toronto Western Hospital is improving upon a dystonia assessment tool doctors use to evaluate an individual's symptoms by adding measures for emotional and mental health. Dr. Zurowski is incorporating psychiatric measures into the "TWSTRS" dystonia scale used to evaluate patients with cervical dystonia in a project entitled "Dystonia Coalition - Psychiatric Assessment."  Inclusion of these new measures will help neurologists obtain a more complete picture of an individual's treatment needs and more accurately recognize the effects of emotional and mental health issues on the quality of life of people with cervical dystonia. The results from this study will lead to improved treatment and better outcomes for patients.

Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder that causes muscles to contract and spasm involuntarily.  It affects men, women, and children.  Dystonia can be generalized, affecting many major muscle groups and resulting in twisting, repetitive movements and abnormal postures.  Or dystonia can be focal, affecting a specific part of the body such as legs, arms, hands, neck, face, mouth, or vocal cords.  It is estimated that at least 300,000 individuals in North America suffer from dystonia, making it more common than Huntington's disease, muscular dystrophy, and ALS.  There is no known cure.

The Dystonia Medical Research Foundation is dedicated to advancing research for improved dystonia treatments and ultimately a cure, promoting awareness and education, and supporting the needs and well being of affected individuals and families. More information about dystonia and the Career Development Awards is available from the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation at 800-377-3978 or www.dystonia-foundation.org.

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