Abstract
A few earlier observations and recent controlled studies pointed to the possible contribution of thyroid diseases in idiopathic adult-onset dystonia (IAOD). The aim of this study was to investigate the association between thyroid status and clinical characteristics of IAOD, focusing on dystonia localization, spread, and associated features such as tremors and sensory tricks. Patients were identified from those included in the Italian Dystonia Registry, a multicentre dataset of patients with adult-onset dystonia. The study population included 1518 IAOD patients. Patients with hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism were compared with those without any thyroid disease. In the 1518 IAOD patients, 167 patients (11%; 95% CI 9.5–12.6%) were diagnosed with hypothyroidism and 42 (2.8%; 95% CI 1.99–3.74) with hyperthyroidism. The three groups were comparable in age at dystonia onset, but there were more women than men in the groups with thyroid disease. Analysing the anatomical distribution of dystonia, more patients with blepharospasm were present in the hyperthyroidism group, but the difference did not reach statistical significance after the Bonferroni correction. The remaining dystonia-affected body sites were similarly distributed in the three groups, as did dystonia-associated features and spread. Our findings provided novel information indicating that the high rate of thyroid diseases is not specific for any specific dystonia subpopulation and does not appear to influence the natural history of the disease.
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Data are available upon reasonable request. Requests for data sharing can be sent to the Corresponding Author.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Italian Dystonia Registry study group: Marta Bianchi, ASST della Valcamonica, Neurology Unit, Esine, Italy. Simona Cascino, University of Messina, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Messina, Italy. Denise Cerne, University of Genoa, Department of Neuroscience, Genoa, Italy. Elena Contaldi, University of Eastern Piedmont, Department of Translational Medicine, Movement Disorders Centre, Neurology Unit, Novara, Italy. Rosa Maria Converti, IRCCS, Don Gnocchi Foundation, Milan, Italy. Angelo Fabio Gigante, San Paolo Hospital, Section of Neurology, Bari, Italy. Kais Humaidan, University Hospital of Cagliari, Neurology Unit, Cagliari, Italy. Claudia Ledda, University of Turin, Department of Neuroscience "Rita Levi Montalcini", Turin, Italy. Vadalà Leone, Mater Domini University Hospital, Center for Botulinum Toxin Therapy, Neurologic Unit, Catanzaro, Italy. Nicoletta Manzo, Presidio Ospedaliero San Filippo Neri, Neurology Unit, Rome, Italy. Carlo Perretti, University Hospital of Cagliari, Neurology Unit, Cagliari, Italy. Paolo Polverino, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Department of Neurology, Rozzano, Italy. Nicola Tambasco, University Hospital of Perugia, Neurology Unit, Perugia, Italy. Elisa Unti, Pisa University Hospital, Centro Clinico Parkinson e Disordini del Movimento, Pisa, Italy. Francesca Valentino, University of Pavia, Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, Pavia, Italy.
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Conceptualization: SI, GD. Data curation and investigation: all authors. Formal analysis and original draft preparation: SI, AB, GD. Review and editing: all authors. Study supervision: GD.
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Idrissi, S., Velucci, V., Esposito, M. et al. Does thyroid diseases contribute to the natural history of idiopathic adult-onset dystonia? Data from the Italian Dystonia Registry. J Neural Transm 131, 369–375 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-024-02753-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-024-02753-7