Neurological & Metabolic Disorders
Dystonia Can Occur with Numerous Disorders
Disorders and Conditions
Dystonia can occur as a part of many disorders and conditions.
Research is ongoing and this list is not be considered comprehensive.
- Cerebrovascular or ischemic injury (stroke)
- Arteriovenous malformation
- Perinatal cerebral injury
- Viral encephalitis
- Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis
- AIDS
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
- Kernicterus
- Huntington’s disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Spinocerebellar ataxias
- HARP syndrome (Hypobetalipoproteinemia, acanthocytosis, retinitis pigmentosa, pallidal degeneration)
- Familial frontotemporal dementias
- Familial basal ganglia calcifications
- Wilson’s disease
- Juvenile parkinsonism
- Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation type 1
- Ataxia-telangiectasia
- Triosephosphate isomerase deficiency
- Vitamin E deficiency
- Biopterin deficiency
- Sphingolipidoses
- Niemann-Pick disease type C and D
- Ceroid lipofuscinosis
- Homocystinuria
- Hartnup disease
- Methylmalonic aciduria
- Tyrosinaemia
- Lesch-Nyhan syndrome
- Rett’s syndrome
- Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease
- Dystonia-deafness syndrome
- MERRF (myoclonus epilepsy associated with ragged-red fibers)
- MELAS (myopathy, mitochondrial-encephalopathy-lactic acidosis-stroke)
- Leber’s disease
- Leigh’s syndrome
- Neuroacanthocytosis
- Neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease
- Haemochromatosis
- Progressive supranuclear palsy
- Multiple system atrophy
- Corticobasal ganglionic degeneration
- Dentatorubropalidoluysian atrophy
- Glutaric academia
- Methylmalonic academia
- Homocystinuria
- Metachromatic leukodystrophy
- Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis
- Primary antiphospholipid antobidy syndrome
- Gangliosidoses
- Hallervorden-Spatz disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Atlantoaxial sublaxation
- Syringomyelia
Resembling Dystonia
The following disorders and conditions are generally considered to resemble dystonia but thought to have a distinct underlying cause:
- Dystonic (tonic) tics
- Head tilt (vestibulopathy, trochlear nerve palsy)
- Bent spine, camptocormia, scoliosis
- Atlanto axial and shoulder subluxation
- Arnold-Chiari malformation
- Soft tissue neck mass
- Congenital muscular torticollis
- Klippel-Feil syndrome
- Satoyoshi syndrome
- Dupuytren’s contractures
- Trigger digits
- Neuromuscular causes (Isaacs syndrome, etc.)
- Spasms (hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia, alkalosis)
- Orthopedic and rheumatological causes
- Sandifer syndrome
- Deafferentiation (pseudoathetosis)
Locate Information
To locate information about these diseases and conditions, the following resource may be helpful.
Find a Doctor
Finding a doctor with special training in movement disorders can make a big difference in your treatment.
The DMRF maintains a directory of physicians and healthcare providers with experience and/or interest in treating people with dystonia.
