New York State Council of Health-system Pharmacists

CERVICAL DYSTONIA, ALSO KNOWN AS spas-modic torticollis, is described as simultaneous and sustained contraction of agonist and antagonist muscles of the neck, which based on head movements could be categorized to torticollis (neck rotation), ante-rocollis (head forward flexion or pulled forward), retrocollis (head posterior extension or pulled back-ward), and laterocollis (head tilt or lateral flexion). Combination forms are also common. Even though cervical dystonia is the most common form of focal dystonia, only a few epidemiologic studies have been conducted to describe its incidence and prevalence. Separate studies of different geographic locations and times show the prevalence between 9 and 30 per 100 000 in the United States.1-3 The current preva-lence of cervical dystonia in the United States is esti