The objective of this study was to characterize levodopa (l-dopa)-induced dyskinesias in patients with tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency. Clinical observation was carried out on 6 patients who were diagnosed with tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency and were treated with escalating doses of l-dopa. All 6 patients showed l-dopa-induced dyskinesias of variable intensity early in the course of treatment and regardless of the age of initiation. l-Dopa-induced dyskinesias were precipitated by increases in the dose of l-dopa and also by febrile illnesses and stress. They caused dysfunction and distress in 2 patients. The dyskinesias were improved by decreasing the l-dopa dose or by slowing its titration upward. Increasing the dose frequency was helpful in 2 patients, and introducing amantadine was helpful in another 2 patients. l-Dopa-induced dyskinesias are a common phenomenon in tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency. The current observations show that l-dopa-induced dyskinesias are frequent in a dopamine-deficient state in the absence of nigrostriatal degeneration. Although l-dopa-induced dyskinesias in tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency are phenomenologically similar to those that occur in Parkinson's disease, they are different in a number of other respects, suggesting intrinsic differences in the pathophysiologic basis of l-dopa-induced dyskinesias in the 2 conditions. © 2013 Movement Disorder Society.

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Alberta Infant Motor Scale norms were created for Greek preterm infants. This study confirms that AIMS trajectories of preterm infants are below those of full-term infants of the same nationality. The influence of morbidity factors, including RDS, IVH, and ROP, should be taken into account when administering the AIMS in preterm infants.

Assessment of upper limb function, kinematic analysis, and dystonia in patients with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy and periventricular leukomalacia. Seven children with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy and 8 controls underwent upper limb kinematics. Movement duration, average and maximum linear velocity, index of curvature, index of dystonia, and target accuracy and stability were analyzed. In the patients with spastic diplegia, Gross Motor Function and Manual Ability Classification Systems were determined, and spasticity and dystonia were rated using the Modified Ashworth and the Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia scales respectively. Children with spastic diplegia demonstrated a tendency toward higher index of dystonia reflecting overflow, higher index of curvature, lower velocities, and poor target accuracy and stability. All patients showed clinical evidence of dystonia in the upper limbs. Dystonia scores correlated with the Manual Ability Classification System (r = 0.86, P = .01) and with the index of dystonia (r = 0.82, P = .02). Children with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy present dystonia in the upper limbs. This is functionally relevant and can be measured with kinematic analysis.