Cervical dystonia (spasmodic torticollis). Some aspects of the natural history

A literature survey was done to outline the natural history of cervical dystonia (spasmodic torticollis). The disorder starts between 25 and 60 years with head deviation or neck pain. Sometimes, there are personal or familial extrapyramidal antecedents (tremor, dystonia). The role of a preceding neck or head trauma is unsettled. Often, there is a delay in diagnosis of more than one year. The majority of patients show steady progression of their focal dystonia and reach maximal disability after five years; neck pain occurring in 70-80% contributes significantly to disability. In a third of the cases, there is a progression to segmental dystonia. In about 20% of the patients a spontaneous, sustained or unsustained remission of the torticollis can be observed; this occurs particularly in cases with earlier age of onset. Cervical dystonia has important psychosocial consequences: many patients have to withdraw from their job or from social activities.