Objective: To correlate the evolution over time, level of impact of illness, functionality and posture of head and trunk in the coronal plane of patients with cervical dystonia.

Background: Dystonia is a movement disorder characterized by sustained or intermittent muscle contractions causing abnormal, often repetitive, movements, postures, or both. Cervical dystonia (CD) is the most common form of dystonia.

Methods: We prospectively evaluated 69 patients with CD. Clinical data were collected from medical records, repercussions of dystonia by the Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (TWSTRS), functionality was assessed by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and postural measures assessed with postural the Analysis Software (SAPO®). Statistical analysis was performed from principal component analysis (PCA), after verification of data quality by the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin method (KMO test). The correlation matrix between variables was evaluated with the sphericity Bartlett’s test and setting the number of principal components was established through the Broken-stick test.

Results: Correlation between time of diagnosis and functions of FIM showed that the shorter the time of diagnosis, the greater the patients’ independence to perform daily activities such as being able to feed themselves, do personal hygiene, get dressed to the waist and from the waist down, use the toilet, use the shower, walk up and down stairs and solve problems. When the scores used for measuring the level of impact of the repercussions of CD were correlated with the FIM and postural measures, we found that the higher the level of severity and impact of the CD, the worse the postural pattern and the less independence to move from bed to chair and using the toilet. However, the level of impact was lower in younger subjects.

Conclusions: The progression of the disease and the impact of CD were directly correlated with the functionality and the postural characteristics of patients.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/correlation-between-time-course-level-of-impact-of-illness-functionality-and-postural-measures-of-patients-with-cervical-dystonia/