Echogenicity of lentiform nucleus in different types of idiopathic dystonia

Introduction

Recently, the use of transcranial sonography (TCS) in the field of movement disorders is growing more and more and new indications for diagnosing these disorders has been appeared. Dystonia is characterized by involuntary patterned muscle contractions resulting in abnormal postures or twisting movements. Routine imaging techniques such as brain MRI are usually normal in idiopathic dystonia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of TCS in patients with idiopathic dystonia.

Materials and methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted on forty patients with primary dystonia, referred to neurology clinic of Rasoul-e-Akram Hospital, Tehran, Iran. A checklist composed of demographic variables, features of dystonia and results of TCS, was completed for each patient. To analyse the data, descriptive statistics were used.

Results

The mean duration of dystonia was 6 (±6.2SD) years. The lentiform nucleus (LN) was hyperechogenic in 26 patients (65%). All of the patients with generalized dystonia and dystonic tremor of head and neck, had hyperechogenic LN. The minimum and maximum area of LN, were calculated for blepharospasm and dystonic tremor of head and neck, respectively (mean of 0.19 cm² for blepharospasm, and 0.37 cm² for dystonic tremor of head and neck).

Conclusion

Despitelack of any control group, our results showed the frequency of LN hyperechogenicity in South-West Asian patients with idiopathic dystonia is similar to that reported in European and North-American patients with idiopathic dystonia.