Abstract

Some patients with dystonic movements and postures not known to be caused by environmental or degenerative disorders can be segregated from classical-appearing idiopathic torsion dystonia on the basis of distinctive clinical and pharmacologic features. Many of them should be considered within the family of dystonia, as clinical variants of idiopathic torsion dystonia, while others are better classified as being part of other families of dyskinesias. In the former group are paradoxical dystonia, myoclonic dystonia, diurnal dystonia, and dopa-responsive dystonia. The latter group consists of dystonic tics and the various entities comprising paroxysmal dystonia, namely kinesigenic, nonkinesigenic and hypnogenic dystonia.