Summary
Diagnosing dystonia can be challenging and depends on the recognition of subtle clinical signs. Due to clinical heterogeneity, variable age at presentation, and overlapping features with other disorders, dystonia is under-recognized. The presence of dystonic tremor is often a reason for misdiagnosis. We report an illustrative case of a patient with DYT1 dystonia who was originally misdiagnosed with Parkinson disease. Careful physical examination and history-taking can reveal dystonia and prompt appropriate diagnostic studies, which, in turn, can lead to potentially life-changing treatment. Our report illustrates typical challenges in the recognition and diagnosis of dystonia, and serves to increase clinicians' awareness of this disabling, but treatable, condition.
- © 2013 American Academy of Neurology
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