Dystonia: Report from the Trenches
Yes … ahem! This will be part of my next TED talk, which will take place in Hell, where I translate the abstract of a study of post-stroke dystonia from medical jargon (boring words) to plain English.
Abstract from “Post-stroke Movement Disorders: Clinical Spectrum, Pathogenesis, and Management,” PubMed, National Library of Medicine, NIH.
Involuntary movements develop after 1–4% of strokes and they have been reported in patients with ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes affecting the basal ganglia, thalamus, and/or their connections. Hemichorea-hemiballism is the most common movement disorder following a stroke in adults while dystonia is most common in children. Tremor, myoclonus, asterixis, stereotypies, and vascular parkinsonism are other movement disorders seen following stroke. Some of them occur immediately after acute stroke, some can develop later, and others may have delayed onset progressive course. Proposed pathophysiological mechanisms include neuronal plasticity, functional diaschisis, and age-related differences in brain metabolism. There are no guidelines regarding the management of post-stroke movement disorders, mainly because of their heterogeneity. [Emphasis mine.]
In plain English:
You have a one to four chance out of a hundred to develop dystonia after a stroke. If you “win” this lottery, you might receive your “prize” immediately or possibly up to several months after the blessed event. Basically, your brain is fucking you up. We don’t really know how to treat this condition, mainly because the effect on different patients is all over the damn map. We need to study this more.
*****
Thank you for stating the obvious, ahem, reading.
Keywords: Dystonia; stroke; tremor.
And nearly 20 years after I developed dystonia.
PPS: If anyone out there knows about a post-stroke dystonia support group (particularly ones that have members with a fucked up hand and foot), feel free to let me know in the comments. I can use all the help I can get.
BONUS: Deplatform yourself: how to leave Facebook, Instagram & WhatsApp. Fuck ’em all.
See you in the funnies! 🙂 (With thanks to Tom of The Casual Acting and Screenwriting Meetup Group!)
Originally published at http://randomandsundrythings.wordpress.com on March 6, 2023.
