A Patient with Multifocal Dystonia

Aim: Diagnosed with multifocal dystonia, the subjects without trauma, exposure to toxic substances, metabolic diseases or the history of chronic drug use were aimed to be discussed in light of literature. Case Report: A 62- year-old man was recruited to our clinic with the complaints of the pain on the right half of the neck, tenderness, contractions on both hands, more definite on the right. In his history, it was determined that the pain on the right half of the neck had been present for two years and the complaint of contraction on the right hand had just started after the right neck pain, and that contraction on the left hand had existed for one year. On his physical examination, a mass which could palpably be felt, in size of 1x1 cm, of neatly framed and tender was observed on the right half of the neck. On the neurologic examination, dystonia existed on both hands, more marked on the right, and tonus had increased on both upper extremities in the nature of rigidity. On the cervical MRI, definite protrusion on C5-6, left paramedian protrusion on C5-6, C6-7 and cord impression on C5-6 were present. Conclusion: What makes our case remarkable is timely correlation between pain on right half of neck and beginning of dystonia on right upper extremity. Chronic pain could lead to movement disorder in the form of dystonia by disinhibitation of the silent spinal cord central pattern generator by causing hyperexitability of spinal interneurons.