Table 3.
Classification of the dystonias
| Axis | Dimension for Classification | Subgroups |
|---|---|---|
| Axis I: clinical features | Age at onset | Infancy (birth to 2 years) |
| Childhood (3–12 years) | ||
| Adolescence (13–20 years) | ||
| Early adulthood (21–40 years) | ||
| Late adulthood (40 years and older) | ||
| Body distribution | Focal (one isolated body region) | |
| Segmental (two or more contiguous regions) | ||
| Multifocal (two or more noncontiguous regions) | ||
| Hemidystonia (half the body) | ||
| Generalized (trunk plus two other sites) | ||
| Temporal pattern | Disease course (static vs. progressive) | |
| Short‐term variation (e.g., persistent, action specific, diurnal, or paroxysmal) | ||
| Associated features | Isolated (with or without tremor) | |
| Combined (with other neurological or systemic features) | ||
| Axis II: etiology | Nervous system pathology | Degenerative |
| Structural (e.g., focal static lesions) | ||
| No degenerative or structural pathology | ||
| Heritability | Inherited (e.g., sex linked or autosomal, dominant or recessive, or mitochondrial) | |
| Acquired (e.g., brain injury, drugs/toxins, vascular, or neoplastic) | ||
| Idiopathic | Sporadic | |
| Familial |