[Writer's cramp syndrome treated successfully by thalamotomy]

In the literature the prevalent until now opinion was that writer's cramp was a disturbance of psychic origin or an occupational neurosis. However, the authors treated successfully three cases of this syndrome with thalamotomy in the years 1976-1982. Two cases were in subject with right-handedness who had graphospasm with evidence of increasing difficulty in writing until complete impossibility of further writing, after several years postural and intentional tremor appeared, and dystonic symptoms developed in the right foot. The third cases had a history of 16 years of writer's cramp and after years symptoms of right-sided dystonia with involuntary movements of the right upper extremity and continuous tics and spams of the facial muscles. After thalamotomy in all cases writer's cramp, tremors and involuntary movements disappeared, writing became again possible and the efficiency of right extremities returned. The described cases of writer's clamp were focal forms of dystonia which became generalized after years. The indications to stereotaxic treatment in these syndromes should be established much earlier.