Q My good friend who is getting engaged soon has told us that her boyfriend suffers from dystonia.

We are concerned but do not know much about the condition or its implications.

All we know is that the ailment affects her boyfriend's face and right limbs.

Is this condition genetic and hereditary? Will it worsen?

A Dystonia is a descriptive term and not a diagnosis per se. It means the body part involved is in a twisted or abnormal posture due to contractions of muscles not normally activated during certain movements.

Generally, dystonia involving the neck or facial muscles in a middle-aged person with no other neurological disease is termed idiopathic - that is, it has no obvious underlying cause.

This is the commonest form of dystonia.

This form tends to stay confined to the area affected and does not progress into other neurological problems. Therefore, it usually carries a good prognosis and responds well to botulinum toxin injections into the muscles involved.

There are oral medications but they may have side effects. Dystonia in younger people, or dystonia which occurs in conjunction with other neurological problems, needs to be investigated. There are various causes for these forms of dystonia.

In the young, underlying genetic or hereditary conditions mean there is a higher chance of developing dystonia. The prognosis and treatment are highly individualised and complex, depending on the nature of the underlying disease.

Dr June Tan

Dr June Tan is a senior consultant at the division of neurology at National University Hospital

This article was first published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times.