title: The anatomical basis of upper limb dystonia: lesson from secondary cases.
abstract: Upper limb dystonia is a focal dystonia that may affect muscles in the arm, forearm and hand. The neuroanatomical substrates involved in upper limb dystonia are not fully understood. Traditionally, dysfunction of the basal ganglia is presumed to be the main cause of dystonia but a growing body of evidence suggests that a network of additional cortical and subcortical structures may be involved. To identify the brain regions that are affected in secondary upper limb dystonia may help to better understand the neuroanatomical basis of the condition. We considered only patients with focal upper limb dystonia associated with a single localized brain lesion. To identify these patients, we conducted a systematic review of the published literature as well as the medical records of 350 patients with adult-onset dystonia seen over past 15 years at our movement disorder clinic. The literature review revealed 36 articles describing 72 cases of focal upper limb dystonia associated with focal lesions. Among patients at our clinic, four had focal lesions on imaging studies. Lesions were found in multiple regions including thalamus (n = 39), basal ganglia (n = 17), cortex (n = 4), brainstem (n = 4), cerebellum (n = 1), and cervical spine (n = 7). Dystonic tremor was not associated with any particular site of lesion, whereas there was a trend for an inverse association between task specificity and thalamic involvement. These data in combination with functional imaging studies of idiopathic upper limb dystonia support a model in which a network of different regions plays a role in pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sense Organs, "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, 70124, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liuzzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sense Organs, "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, 70124, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Angelo Fabio
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Gigante
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sense Organs, "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, 70124, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leo
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sense Organs, "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, 70124, Bari, Italy. giovanni.defazio@uniba.it.|Department of Neuroscience and Sense Organs, "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, Policlinico di Bari, piazza Giulio Cesare, 11-70124, Bari, Italy. giovanni.defazio@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Defazio
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D020821:Dystonic Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D039781:PubMed / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Brain damage; Task specificity; Tremor; Upper limb dystonia