Symptoms
The disease typically starts in one limb, typically one leg. Progressive dystonia results in clubfoot and tiptoe walking. The symptoms can spread to all four limbs around age 18, after which progression slows and eventually symptoms reach a plateau. There can be regression in developmental milestones (both motor and mental skills) and failure to thrive in the absence of treatment.
In addition, DRD is typically characterized by signs of parkinsonism that may be relatively subtle. Such signs may include slowness of movement (bradykinesia), tremors, stiffness and resistance to movement (rigidity), balance difficulties, and postural instability. Approximately 25 percent also have abnormally exaggerated reflex responses (hyperreflexia), particularly in the legs. These symptoms can result in a presentation that is similar in appearance to that of Parkinson's Disease.
Many patients experience improvement with sleep, are relatively free of symptoms in the morning, and develop increasingly severe symptoms as the day progresses (i.e., diurnal fluctuation). Accordingly, this disorder has sometimes been referred to as "progressive hereditary dystonia with diurnal fluctuations." Yet some DRD patients do not experience such diurnal fluctuations, causing many researchers to prefer other disease terms.
For example, in those with DRD, symptoms typically dramatically improve with low-dose administration of levodopa (L-dopa). L-DOPA exists as a biochemically significant metabolite of the amino acid phenylalanine, as well as a biological precursor of the catecholamine dopamine, a neurotransmitter. (Neurotransmitters are naturally produced molecules that may be sequestered following the propagation of an action potential down a nerve towards the axon terminal, which in turn may cross the synaptic junction between neurons, enabling neurons to communicate in a variety of ways.) Low-dose L-dopa usually results in near-complete or total reversal of all associated symptoms for these patients. In addition, the effectiveness of such therapy is typically long term, without the complications that often occur for those with Parkinson's disease who undergo L-dopa treatment. Thus, most experts indicate that this disorder is most appropriately known as dopa-responsive dystonia (DRD).
No data are available on mortality associated with DRD, but patients surviving beyond the fifth decade with treatment have been reported. However, in severe, early autosomal recessive forms of the disease, patients have been known to pass away during childhood. Girls seem to be somewhat more commonly affected. The disease less commonly begins during puberty or after age 20, and very rarely, cases in older adults have been reported.
Read more about this topic: Dopamine-responsive Dystonia
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