Task specific lingual dystonia: An uncommon cause of isolated dysarthria

초록

Objectives: Dysarthria is a common neurologic symptom and is produced by a variety of neurologic disorders. Hyperkinetic type of dysarthria is indicated as a plural disorder because it includes many heterogeneous involuntary movements including dystonia. Isolated dysarthria due to lingual dystonia is rarely encountered. We describe a patient presenting with isolated dysarthria caused by lingual dystonia. Case: A 50-year-old man visited our hospital due to dysarthria. His medical and psychological history was not remarkable. The results of neurological examinations did not reveal any motor or sensory abnormalities. However, on speech examination, he demonstrated dystonic movements of the tongue aggravated on speaking and during rest with mouth opening. The dystonic movements disappeared when he protruded his tongue and did not occur during chewing or eating behaviors. After exclusion of other causes of tongue dystonia, he was diagnosed as having primary lingual dystonia. Conclusion: We presented a patient with isolated dysarthria caused by dystonia specifically involving the tongue. Our case illustrates that task specific lingual dystonia should be considered as one of the causes of isolated speech disturbances. © 2013 Korean Academy of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.

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