Spinal-generated movement disorders: a clinical review

Abstract

Spinal-generated movement disorders (SGMDs) include spinal segmental myoclonus, propriospinal myoclonus, orthostatic tremor, secondary paroxysmal dyskinesias, stiff person syndrome and its variants, movements in brain death, and painful legs-moving toes syndrome. In this paper, we review the relevant anatomy and physiology of SGMDs, characterize and demonstrate their clinical features, and present a practical approach to the diagnosis and management of these unusual disorders.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40734-015-0028-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Medical treatment of dystonia

“…As a muscle relaxant, baclofen is an agonist of GABA B receptors at presynaptic terminals of excitatory glutamatergic neurons, and at postsynaptic sites of inhibitory interneurons in the spinal cord [11]. Its mechanism in dystonia is less understood.…”

History of Botulinum Toxin Treatment in Movement Disorders

“…It can result from diverse causes including tumor, trauma, infection, and demyelination 60. Spinal myoclonus is often rhythmic, involving one or both legs.…”

Spinal myoclonus: a rare presentation of cervical myelopathy

“…Spinal myoclonus can be further subclassified into focal spinal myoclonus (FSM), segmental spinal myoclonus (SSM) and proprioceptive spinal myoclonus (PSM) 3. FSM corresponds to myoclonus confined to single spinal myotomes while SSM describes muscle twitches that correspond to several associated spinal myotomes,4 originating from one or few adjacent segments of the spinal cord 5. This is usually due to localised damage to spinal nerves or changes in the function of the underlying spinal cord, with the clinical presentation affecting those body parts correlated to the anatomical location of the lesion.…”