title: Consideration on two cases of dystonia-parkinsonism.
abstract: We describe two sporadic cases of dystonia-parkinsonism at different stages of disease progression. The two girls, first seen at the ages of 10 and 12 years, have been followed for 9 and 2 years respectively. In both patients L-dopa 60 mg + carbidopa 6 mg brought about a swift remission of symptoms, which persists to date. All examinations, including CT and MR brainscans, were normal. The CSF and urine levels of HVA and 5HIAA were low in one case and normalized with treatment. This finding might provide a fairly valid predictive index of responsiveness to L-dopa.
authors.affiliation: Divisione di Neuropsichiatria Infantile, Fondazion Istituto Neurologico C. Mondino, IRCCS, Università di Pavia.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Zambrino
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Balottin
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Borgatti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lanzi
mesh_terms: D002230:Carbidopa / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D004421:Dystonia / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006719:Homovanillic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008734:Methoxyhydroxyphenylglycol / Q000378:metabolism; D010302:Parkinson Disease, Secondary / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D007980:Levodopa; D008734:Methoxyhydroxyphenylglycol; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; D002230:Carbidopa; D006719:Homovanillic Acid