This article was published in the Dystonia Dialogue.

There are occasional reports of dystonia symptoms going into remission. Given the research and prognosis implications of this, investigators did a systematic review of reports of remission in the medical literature.

They reviewed data from 2,551 cases with reports predominantly from individuals with cervical dystonia  or blepharospasm/Meige syndrome. Complete remission was reported in 12% and partial remission for 4% of cases. Remission rates were higher in cervical dystonia (15%) than in blepharospasm/Meige (6%). Remission occurred on average 4.5 years after onset of symptoms. However, the majority of patients (64%) experienced a return of symptoms.

The data suggested that patients with remission were significantly younger at symptom onset than patients without remission. The investigators called for additional study into this important phenomenon.

Mainka T, Erro R, Rothwell J, Kühn AA, Bhatia KP, Ganos C. Remission in dystonia – Systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2019 Sep;66:9-15.


The Dystonia Medical Research Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to advancing research for improved dystonia treatments and ultimately a cure, promoting awareness, and supporting the well-being of affected individuals and families.

en_USEnglish