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Pathophysiology and Pharmacotherapy of Spasmodic Torticollis: A Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

S. Lal
S. Lal*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal
*
Department of Psychiatry, Montreal General Hospital, 1650 Cedar Street, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1A4, Canada
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Summary:

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The few existing neuropathological, neurochemical, and neuropharacological studies have shed little light on the pathophysiology of spasmodic torticollis (ST). The relevance of experimental ST in animals and drug-induced ST in man to idiopathic ST is unclear.

Most pharmacotherapeutic endeavors have focused on drugs affecting basal ganglia function. Unfortunately, problems of sample size, clinical heterogeneity of patient population, research design, objective evaluation of response, documentation of key data, and adequacy of duration of follow-up make interpretation of published results difficult. Because of the heterogeneity of ST, investigations aimed at establishing a neurotransmitter profile for each patient by observing the acute response to a test dose of drugs affecting cholinergic, dopaminergic, serotonergic, and gammaaminobutyric acid systems may provide a more rational basis to the selection of treatment.

Type
Review Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , November 1979 , pp. 427 - 435
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1979

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