ABSTRACT
Writer's cramp is a task-specific hand dystonia affecting handwriting. Clinical scores such as the Arm Dystonia Disability Scale (ADDS) or Writer's Cramp Rating Scale (WCRS) as well as kinematic analysis of handwriting movements have been used to assess functional impairment in affected patients. In 21 patients with writer's cramp and healthy controls, we analyzed the kinematics of writing and cyclic drawing movements. We rated the severity of dystonia using the ADDS and WCRS and correlated the clinical scores with movement kinematics. Mean stroke frequency was significantly reduced in dystonic patients. Drawing movements showed more frequently a decrease in stroke frequency than handwriting movements. During circle drawing, mean vertical peak velocity was more variable in patients relative to controls, indicating an impaired ability to reproduce the same kinematic pattern over time. An increase in vertical writing pressure was only observed during handwriting but not during circle drawing and may reflect a compensatory effort to stabilize the pencil. Kinematic measures and individual ADDS and WCRS scores did not correlate with each other. The lack of correlation is not surprising as ADDS, WCRS, and kinematic analysis probe different aspects of motor impairment. The ADDS characterizes how dystonia affects a set of fine manual tasks, whereas the WCRS scores the manifestation of dystonia during handwriting. Therefore, the clinical scores and kinematic analysis of handwriting provide complementary insights into motor impairment. Future studies need to address which combination of clinical scores and kinematic measures are most appropriate to quantify impairment in writer's cramp.
Subject(s)
Disability Evaluation , Dystonic Disorders/diagnosis , Dystonic Disorders/physiopathology , Movement Disorders/diagnosis , Movement Disorders/physiopathology , Adult , Aged , Diagnosis, Differential , Dystonia/diagnosis , Dystonia/physiopathology , Female , Handwriting , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Parkinson Disease/diagnosis , Parkinson Disease/physiopathology , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
In the present study, we analyzed how high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the primary motor hand area (M1-Hand) shapes anticipatory motor activity in frontal areas as indexed by the contingent negative variation (CNV). Eight right-handed volunteers received real or sham 5Hz rTMS at an intensity of 90% resting motor threshold (1,500 stimuli per session). Real but not sham rTMS to left M1-Hand induced a site-specific increase in amplitude of the late component of the CNV at the electrode C3 overlaying the site of stimulation. The increase in pre-movement activity in the stimulated cortex may reflect an increase in facilitatory drive from connected motor areas, enhanced responsiveness of the stimulated cortex to these inputs or both.
Subject(s)
Motor Activity/radiation effects , Motor Cortex/radiation effects , Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation/methods , Adult , Contingent Negative Variation/physiology , Contingent Negative Variation/radiation effects , Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation , Female , Functional Laterality/physiology , Hand/physiology , Hand/radiation effects , Humans , Male , Motor Cortex/physiology , Time FactorsABSTRACT
We report on an unusual presentation of a task-specific focal oromandibular dystonia in a 47-year-old man of Turkish descent. His speech was affected exclusively while reciting Islamic prayers in Arabic language, which he otherwise did not speak.
Subject(s)
Dystonia/physiopathology , Islam , Mandible/physiopathology , Mouth/physiopathology , Religion , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Recent imaging studies suggest a rapid degeneration of the dopaminergic system in early Parkinson's disease (PD), followed by a slowing of the degenerative process in advanced disease. In the present study, a group of early-stage PD patients underwent three sequential [123I]beta-CIT SPECT studies to assess the decline of striatal dopamine transporter binding over a 5-year period. Twenty-one of a cohort of 24 early PD patients who participated in an earlier longitudinal beta-CIT SPECT imaging study [Mov Disord 2002;17:45-53] were included. Scan intervals were 26 +/- 11 months (scan 1-2) and 38 +/- 15 months (scan 2-3), respectively. The relative annual rate of decline of striatal beta-CIT binding from age-expected normal values at the time of Scan 1 was used as primary outcome variable. The relative annual decline of striatal binding from Scan 1 to Scan 2 (4.5 +/- 4.6%) and from Scan 2 to Scan 3 (3.0 +/- 3.0%) was not significantly different. The non-significant difference in progression rate was due mainly to the rapid early decline of striatal binding in 1 patient who subsequently developed a severe dysexecutive dementia syndrome. These data are not suggestive of substantial change in the course of dopaminergic degeneration in PD within the first 5 to 7 years after symptom onset.
