How Do I Know What Form of Dystonia I Have?
There are several forms of dystonia, and dystonia may be a symptom of many diseases and conditions.
If you are new to dystonia, it can be a challenging disorder to understand. The words used to describe your specific diagnosis may be confusing.
To accurately describe the “form” of dystonia that an individual has, at least four specific pieces of information must be accounted for:
- The age at which the symptoms started
- How the body is affected
- What is known about the cause
- If the dystonia occurs with symptoms of additional neurological disorders
All of the above is needed to set the best course for treatment, but for the sake of routine conversation, most people use the terms that describe the most prominent feature of the dystonia (for example, cervical dystonia for dystonia that affects the neck and shoulders; dopa-responsive dystonia for the form of childhood-onset dystonia that has characteristics that resemble parkinsonism.).
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