Toxins 2012, 4(11), 1404-1414; doi:10.3390/toxins4111404
Review

Botulinum Toxin Physiology in Focal Hand and Cranial Dystonia

Barbara Illowsky Karpemail
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Received: 3 September 2012; in revised form: 24 October 2012 / Accepted: 9 November 2012 / Published: 20 November 2012
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Use of Botulinum Toxins)
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Abstract: The safety and efficacy of botulinum toxin for the treatment of focal hand and cranial dystonias are well-established. Studies of these adult-onset focal dystonias reveal both shared features, such as the dystonic phenotype of muscle hyperactivity and overflow muscle contraction and divergent features, such as task specificity in focal hand dystonia which is not a common feature of cranial dystonia. The physiologic effects of botulinum toxin in these 2 disorders also show both similarities and differences. This paper compares and contrasts the physiology of focal hand and cranial dystonias and of botulinum toxin in the management of these disorders.
Keywords: dystonia; blepharospasm; Meige syndrome; writer’s cramp; botulinum toxin; physiology

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Karp, B.I. Botulinum Toxin Physiology in Focal Hand and Cranial Dystonia. Toxins 2012, 4, 1404-1414.

AMA Style

Karp BI. Botulinum Toxin Physiology in Focal Hand and Cranial Dystonia. Toxins. 2012; 4(11):1404-1414.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Karp, Barbara I. 2012. "Botulinum Toxin Physiology in Focal Hand and Cranial Dystonia." Toxins 4, no. 11: 1404-1414.

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