Treatment of diaphragmatic dystonia with pallidal deep brain stimulation

We present the case of a 70-year-old woman with treatment-refractory diaphragmatic dystonia. Patient initially presented with blepharospasms followed by development of involuntary inspiratory spasms during speech. Her symptoms were drug-refractory, and she therefore underwent awake bilateral pallidal deep brain stimulation with microelectrode recording. No intraoperative or postoperative complications or adverse events occurred, and there were no undesired effects of stimulation. Using contacts in bilateral dorsal globus pallidus interna and ventral globus pallidus externa, symptoms alleviated after a latency period of 2-4 weeks. At 5-month follow-up, the patient maintained a 16.5-point reduction in Burke-Fahn-Marsden movement scale (from 20/120 to 3.5/120) with resolution of blepharospasm, irregular inspirations and broken and irregular speech.