My father has been diagnosed with an affliction called cervical dystonia. Quite suddenly, his neck muscles have become rigid and generally unresponsive to his attempts to hold his head upright. Now, his head is almost fixed in a downward gaze with his chin pressed against his chest. He can with great difficulty move his chin away from his chest and look forward, but he pretty much has to hold his chin up with his hand or it returns to its chest position. Other cervical dystonia cases reviewed on the net seem to involve head/neck tilted down but to the right or left, rather than the straight down position my father is experiencing. He has visited medical experts in the Chicago area who suggested and then attempted injections of Botox inside the neck, which has helped some other patients. This had no positive effect on my father, and resulted in a temporary condition where it was difficult and painful to swallow. No further Botox treatment is planned. He has begun acupuncture but it is too early to determine whether this will offer any temporary or lasting relief.
He has several complicating or possibly related conditions that should be mentioned when considering his cervical dystonia treatment. He has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. The original diagnosis was about 9 years ago. The progression of the disease has been slow and medications, including STALEVO by Novartis, have been pretty effective, though a vast host of side effects have been experienced. The disease has, however, progressed to the point where new symptoms have developed and new medications have been prescribed. He began taking Alizect a little over a month before the sudden onset of the neck issue diagnosed as cervical dystonia. The Azilect website notes rigidity as a possible side effect but dystonia is not mentioned. It is possibly worthwhile to note that the initial onset of the dystonia symptoms occurred after an over-strain during exercising, though the situation has remained the same or become more severe in the seven months since the initial onset. Shortly after the emergence of the neck-related issues, he began to experience of tremors in his legs (or rocking of knees) but this could be a Parkinson's related coincidence. Prior to this, there were no Parkinson's related tremors of any kind, just stiffness and posture/gait issues.
One last point. He was operated on nearly ten years ago for a brain tumor (front-left temple) which may be irrelevant to the current condition, but was a significant neurological event and therefore is mentioned.
Any thoughts or suggestions to address or improve this condition would be appreciated.
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