Dystonia Will Not Control My Life
Have you ever wondered what life would be like with an uncontrollable muscle spasm? How would it change your life? One type of muscle spasm is called Dystonia, which causes a twitching with a group of muscles moving involuntarily. Understanding what Dystonia is can help the victim's and everyone who knows them. People with Dystonia are different then people without it because thay are sometimes not able to do the same physical activities. For example a "normal" person can drive a car, a person with spasmodic torticollis, a form of dystonia that affects the neck and shoulders, might have dystonia so badly that they can't watch the road long enough to control the car.
Whom does Dystonia affect?
Around half a million people suffer from Dystonia in the United States (O'Connor). It is estimated that 6% of the people with Dystonia have obtained accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment (Wallace). Dystonia is a term for a group of neurological disorders that result in sustained involuntary muscle spasms in one or more parts of the body (Fact sheet). Dystonia is suspected to be a defect in the body's ability to process a particular group of chemicals, which help transmit nerve impulses (Bair). Dystonia causes painful muscle contractions and can affect the eyes, face, neck, voice and limbs (Dystonia). It is the second most common movement disorder next to Parkinson's (Dystonia).
Treatments
Dystonia is treated by the most potent nerve poison known, Botulinum toxin (Dystonia). BOTOX (Botulinum toxin) is a purified neutrotoxin complex, a purified form of the toxin of the Bacterium clostridium botulium (fact sheet). This treatment is available to the forms of Dystonia affecting the face and eyelid muscles (Fact sheet). This treatment is being used by 5,000 patients (Fact Sheet). While there is no cure the treatments relieve some of the pain and reduce some of the over active motor activity (Wallace).
Types of Dystonia
Spasmodic torticollis or S.T. is a type of Dystonia that can affect the muscles in the neck and shoulders. S.T. is the most common form of Dystonia affecting approximately 83,000 people. About three out of every 10,000 people are affected by S.T. (Wallace). The patients' neck may turn or the muscles may pull involuntary and tighten up, more so when they are tired (Bair).
Another type of dystonia is Blepharospasm is when the eyelids, jaws, lips, or tongue are involved.
Tics are the most common symptom of Tourette syndrome. A tic is an involuntary, repetitive movement of muscles usually in the face, neck, shoulders, trunk and hands (Diane, 2011, p.662). Symptoms of Tourette syndrome is often first noticed during childhood, between ages 7 and 10. Most children with Tourette syndrome also have other medical problems such as ADHD and OCD Tourette syndrome exhibit multiple behavioral symptoms including ADHD and OCD, which, like Tourette syndrome, are clinically diagnosed without testing (Chiu, 2013, p.406). According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, motor and vocal tics are classified as simple or complex (Diane, 2011, p.663). Simple motor tics include eye blinking, neck jerking, shoulder shrugging, head banging, head turning, tongue protrusion, nail biting, hair pulling, and facial grimacing (Diane, 2011, p.663). Some examples of complex motor tics are facial gestures, grooming behaviors, hitting or biting oneself, jumping, hopping, touching, squatting, retracing steps, smelling an object, and imitating the movements of ...
Flaccid dysarthria results from damage to the lower motor neurons (LMN) or the peripheral nervous system (Hageman, 1997). The characteristics of flaccid dysarthria generally reflect damage to cranial nerves with motor speech functions (e.g., cranial nerves IX, X, XI and XII) (Seikel, King & Drumright, 2010). Lower motor neurons connect the central nervous system to the muscle fibers; from the brainstem to the cranial nerves with motor function, or from the anterior horns of grey matter to the spinal nerves (Murdoch, 1998). If there are lesions to spinal nerves and the cranial nerves with motor speech functions, it is indicative of a lower motor neuron lesion and flaccid dysarthria. Damage to lower motor neurons that supply the speech muscles is also known as bulbar palsy (Pena-Brooks & Hedge, 2007). Potential etiologies of flaccid dysarthria include spinal cord injury, cerebrovascular accidents, tumors or traumatic brain injury (Pena-Brooks & Hedge, 2007). Possible congenital etiologies of flaccid dysarthria include Moebius syndrome and cerebral palsy. Flaccid dysarthria can also arise from infections such as polio, herpes zoster, and secondary infections to AIDS (Pena-Brooks & Hedge, 2007). Additionally, demyelinating diseases such as Guilian-Barre syndrome and myotonic muscular dystrophy can also lead to flaccid dysarthria (Pena-Brookes & Hedge, 2007). The lower motor neuron lesion results in loss of voluntary muscle control, and an inability to maintain muscle tone. Fasciculations, or twitching movements, may occur if the cell body is involved in the lesion (Seikel et. al., 2010). The primary speech characteristics of flaccid dysarthria include imprecise consonant production, hypernasal resonance, breathiness, and harsh voice (...
In recent years researchers have made significant advances in the field and have come up with many neuroleptic (antipsychotic) medications to treat the disorder. However along with these medical breakthroughs problems have occurred. The most severe side effect is called Tardive Dyskinesia, literally meaning "late movement disorder." (1) Coined in 1964, it is identified by the involvement of numerous "abnormal, involuntary movements of the orofacial area or extremities." . (2) More specifically, it is characterized by rocking, twisting, jerking, toe tapping, lip smacking, blinking, and most commonly an unusual movement of the tongue. . (1) (2)(3). Interestingly enough, these side effects disappear during sleep. (3)
DMD also known as muscular dystrophy is muscular disease that occurs on young boys around age four to six. Muscular dystrophy is genetically transmitted disease carried from parent to offspring. This disease progressively damages or disturbs skeletal and cardiac muscle functions starting on the lower limbs. Obviously by damaging the muscle, the lower limbs and other muscles affected become very weak. This is ultimately caused by the lack dystrophin, a protein the body produces.
party because of the land itself - much of Russia lay too far north to
Parkinson disease (PD), also referred to as Parkinson’s disease and paralysis agitans, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is the third most common neurologic disorder of older adults. It is a debilitating disease affecting motor ability and is characterized by four cardinal symptoms: tremor rigidity, bradykinesia or kinesis (slow movement/no movement), and postural instability. Most people have primary, or idiopathic, disease. A few patients have secondary parkinsonian symptoms from conditions such as brain tumors and certain anti-psychotic drugs.
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Parkinson's is an idiopathic, multifactorial neurodegenerative disease that attacks neurotransmitters in the brain called dopamine. Dopamine is concentrated in a specific area of the brain called the substantia nigra. The neurotransmitter dopamine is a chemical that regulates muscle movement and emotion. Dopamine is responsible for relaying messages between the substantia nigra and other parts of the brain to control body movement. The death of these neurotransmitters affects the central nervous system. The most common symptoms are movement related, including shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and difficulty with posture. Behavioral problems may arise as the disease progresses. Due to the loss of dopamine, Parkinson's patients will often experience depression and some compulsive behavior. In advanced stages of the disease dementia will sometimes occur. The implications of the disease on the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory and phonatory systems significantly control speech.
 Mild, chronic depression has probably existed as long as the human condition, although it has been referred to by various different names. The DSM-III replaced the term “neurotic depression” with dysthymic disorder--which literally means ‘ill-humored’-and it was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 1980
The well-known poison botulin works by blocking acetylcholin, causing paralysis. The botulin derivative botox is used by many people to temporarily eliminate wrinkles --a sad commentary on our times, I would say. On a more serious note, there is a link between acetylcholine and Alzheimer's disease: There is something on the order of a 90% loss of acetylcholine in the brains of people suffering from that debilitating disease.
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, also known as DMD, is the most common form of muscular dystrophy. Muscular dystrophy is a condition that is inherited, and it is when muscles slowly become more and more weak and wasted. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a form of muscular dystrophy that is very rapid and is most commonly found in boys. In muscle, there is a protein named dystrophin. Dystrophin is encoded by the DMD gene. When boys have Duchenne muscular dystrophy, they do not produce enough dystrophin in their muscles. This causes weakness in their muscles. Parents can tell if their child has duchenne muscular dystrophy by looking for various symptoms.
Bell’s palsy is a paralysis or weakness of the muscles on one side of your face. It results from damage to the nerve that controls movement of the muscles in the face, the damage may also affect your sense of taste and how you make tears and saliva. This condition can come on, often overnight and usually gets better on its own within a few weeks. This is not a result of a stroke or transient ischemic attack. This is referred to as a (TIA). Palsy simply means weakness or paralysis,
Some range from neuromuscular disorders to myopathies. Polymyositis is an example of a group of diseases that involves inflammation of the muscles or associated tissue, such as blood vessels that supply the muscle. Another type of disorder is muscular dystrophy which affect the muscle fibers. There are even metabolic muscle disorder that interfere with the chemical reactions involved in drawing energy from food. Whereas, neuromuscular junction disorders impaired transmission of the nerve signals to the muscles. Some disorders affect the nerve cells that supply the muscles. This disorder is known as a motor neuron disorder, commonly known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
...e, mouth, face, or whole body; involuntary chewing, sucking, and lip smacking; and jerky movements of the arms, legs, or entire body” (Comer, 2011, p. 379).
Answer: Spasticity is a form of hypertonia, or increased muscle tone. This result in stiff muscles which can make movement difficulty or even impossible. It can interfere with normal movement, speech and gait. Spasticity is caused by damage to the portion of the brain or Spinal Cord that control voluntary movements (Cerebral Palsy Alliance,