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- We are a member of Finnish Parkinson Association and European Dystonia Federation -

The logo of the Finnish dystonia association

Homepage of the Finnish Dystonia Society

 

 

Dystonia is a neuromuscular disorder characterized by involuntary, repetitive muscle contractions leading to spasms, abnormal postures or twitching movements of different organs. The dysfunction may affect single organs or may be generalized affecting many organs and muscle groups. By far the most common form is cervical dystonia affecting the head/neck/shoulder region but dystonia affecting eye muscles (blepharospasm), voice organs (dysphonia), fingers (writer´s cramp, musicians dystonia) etc. are not very uncommon. Dystonia is a disease much more frequent in women than in men. The disorder is caused by neurochemical dysfunction in a center (basal ganglia) in the brain. Recent investigations indicate that in more than one third of  cases genetical factors (hereditary) are included in the etiology of the disease. Injection of Botulinum toxin in the affected muscles can be regarded as the first-line treatment of several forms of dystonia but alternative methods including deep brain stimulation  (DBS, “brain pacemaker”), selective peripheral denervation etc. are developed and currently improved.  Dopamine treatment is efficient in some forms of dystonia. Physiotherapy provided by competent, specially trained physioterapeuts can in many cases alleviate the symptoms.

 

The activities of  the Finnish Dystonia Society, a national voluntary organization, started in 1993 when dystonia patients were affiliated with the Finnish Parkinson Society. A separate Dystonia Society was founded in 1998. The society is still working in close cooperation with the Parkinson Society. Presently (2009) the Finnish Dystonia Society has about 750 members, of these about 95 % persons affected by dystonia, 5 % supporting persons. There are presently 17 regional supporting groups covering all parts of the country. Through the years there has been a number of special working groups focusing on different aspects of dystonia, all of them have aimed at promoting the support for dystonia patients and increasing the awareness of the disease in general and among health professionals. Support and service for dystonia patients is constantly available by telephone and e-mail and a forum for discussion is available on internet.

A newsletter is published four times a year and the Dystonia day/s is organized annually in November.

 

THE FINNISH DYSTONIA ASSOCIATION