title: The neurology of benign paroxysmal torticollis of infancy: report of 10 new cases and review of the literature.
abstract: Benign paroxysmal torticollis is an under-recognized cause of torticollis of early infancy. The attacks usually last for less than 1 week, recur from every few days to every few months, improve by age 2 years, and end by age 3. There very frequently is a family history of migraine. We did a detailed analysis of 10 cases of benign paroxysmal torticollis, seen over 5 years, and compared our findings with those in the 103 cases in the literature. Detailed neurodevelopmental assessments, available only in our cases, showed accompanying gross motor delays in 5/10 children, with additional fine motor delays in 3/5. As the benign paroxysmal torticollis improved, so did the gross motor delays in 3/5, and the fine motor delays in 1/3. In all of our cases, at least 2 other family members had migraine. Benign paroxysmal torticollis is likely an age-sensitive, migraine-related disorder, commonly accompanied by delayed motor development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Neurology, Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA. npaul.rosman@bmc.org
authors.forename: N Paul
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Rosman
authors.forename: Laurie M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Douglass
authors.forename: Uzma M
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Sharif
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Paolini
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders; D009043:Motor Activity; D014103:Torticollis / Q000503:physiopathology*