[Spastic torticollis (clinical picture, etiology, pathogenesis)]

On the basis of observation of 51 patients with spastic torticollis (ST) the authors describe in detail the clinical picture of the disease, with the dystonic-hyperkinetic syndrome being its principal feature. ST is always caused by involvement of the extrapyramidal system, more frequently of its formations located in the upper portions of the brain stem. In the overwhelming majority of cases the underlying cause of ST is neuro-infection, predominantly epidemic encephalitis. In some cases ST etiology is insufficiently clear: a number of suggestions concerning its origin has been advanced. On the basis of their own and literature data the authors describe the pathogenesis of ST and of its main symptoms.