Table 1.
Criteria for Classifying 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 (2 or more contiguous regions) | ||
| Multifocal (2 or more non-contiguous regions) | ||
| Hemidystonia (half the body) | ||
| Generalized (trunk plus 2 other sites) | ||
| Temporal pattern | Disease course (static vs progressive) | |
| Short-term variation (e.g. persistent, action-specific, diurnal, 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, mitochondrial) | |
| Acquired (e.g. brain injury, drugs/toxins, vascular, neoplastic) | ||
| Idiopathic | Sporadic | |
| Familial |