A rare co occurrence of Cervical Dystonia and Pathological Laughter in an elderly female

• Main Authors: Vishnupriya Veeraraghavan, Krishnan Srinivasan, John Dinesh Alexander
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2020-01-01
• Series: Journal of Geriatric Mental Health
• Subjects: cervical dystonia; emotional incontinence; overuse dystonia; pathological laughter; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
• Online Access: http://www.jgmh.org/article.asp?issn=2348-9995;year=2020;volume=7;issue=2;spage=113;epage=115;aulast=Veeraraghavan

Dystonia is a movement disorder whose main feature is a sustained or intermittent muscle contraction causing abnormal, often repetitive, movements. Cervical dystonia (CD) is a type of focal dystonia affecting cervical muscles leading to abnormal postures and movements of the head, neck, and shoulders. Pathological laughter and crying are a condition characterized by uncontrollable episodes of laughter and crying. It occurs without any apparent triggering stimulus or in response to a stimulus which had not resulted in cry or laughter before the onset of the condition. It is characterized as a disorder of emotional expression rather than a disorder of feelings. The purpose of presenting this case report is that this patient presented with pathological laughter and CD without any other neurological complications which are a very rare and unusual presentation.