Morphometric changes of sensorimotor structures in focal dystonia

• Published in: Movement disorders Vol. 22; no. 8; pp. 1117 - 1123
• Main Authors: Obermann, Mark, Yaldizli, Ozguer, De Greiff, Armin, Lachenmayer, Martin Lenard, Buhl, Anna Rebecca, Tumczak, Felicitus, Gizewski, Elke Ruth, Diener, Hans-Christoph, Maschke, Matthias
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 15.06.2007; Wiley
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; basal ganglia; Basal Ganglia - pathology; Basal Ganglia - physiopathology; Biological and medical sciences; blepharospasm; Blepharospasm - drug therapy; Blepharospasm - epidemiology; Blepharospasm - physiopathology; Botulinum Toxins, Type A - therapeutic use; Caudate Nucleus - pathology; Caudate Nucleus - physiopathology; cervical dystonia; Diseases of striated muscles. Neuromuscular diseases; Dystonic Disorders - drug therapy; Dystonic Disorders - epidemiology; Dystonic Disorders - physiopathology; Female; focal dystonia; Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Neuromuscular Agents - therapeutic use; Psychomotor Disorders - drug therapy; Psychomotor Disorders - epidemiology; sensorimotor integration; Severity of Illness Index; torticollis; Torticollis - drug therapy; Torticollis - epidemiology; Torticollis - physiopathology; voxel-based morphometry; Integration; Nervous system diseases; basal ganglia; focal dystonia; Central nervous system; cervical dystonia; Basal ganglion; voxel-based morphometry; Cerebral disorder; Involuntary movement; sensorimotor integration; Striated muscle disease; Eye disease; Torticollis; Eyelid disease; Voxel; Central nervous system disease; Dystonia; Neurological disorder; Morphometry; Blepharospasm; Extrapyramidal syndrome
• ISSN: 0885-3185; 1531-8257
• DOI: 10.1002/mds.21495

Idiopathic cervical dystonia (CD) and benign essential blepharospasm (BEB) are the most common forms of focal dystonia. Previous autopsy and imaging studies suggested that these disorders are not accompanied by structural brain abnormalities. However, recent brain voxel‐based morphometry (VBM) studies of these conditions suggest that there actually may be changes in gray matter. The objective of this stdy was to detect possible gray matter abnormalities in patients with CD and BEB using VBM and to compare the results between the two conditions and with age‐ and gender‐matched controls. High‐resolution MRI was employed to evaluate healthy controls and individuals with BEB and CD. Eleven BEB, 9 CD, and 14 healthy control subjects were imaged. VBM revealed alterations of gray matter structures involved in sensorimotor processing in the individuals with focal dystonia. In CD subjects there was increased gray matter in the thalamus, caudate head bilaterally, superior temporal lobe, and left cerebellum, while gray matter was decreased in the putamen bilaterally. BEB subjects had increased gray matter in the caudate head and cerebellum bilaterally as well as decrease in the putamen and thalamus bilaterally. These findings strongly underline the recent notion that idiopathic focal dystonias might have a detectable structural correlate. They also demonstrate structural similarities of the investigated focal dystonias, possibly reflecting a shared common pathophysiological origin. © 2007 Movement Disorder Society