Novel approaches to the treatment of cervical dystonia. The concept of dual navigation control

Сervical dystonia (CD) is the most common type of focal dystonia (up to 50% of all dystonia cases). Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) injections is the treatment choice for CD. However, the effectiveness and tolerability of botulinum therapy in CD depends on the correct choice of target muscles and the accuracy of the BoNT injection. The publication presents literature data and our own clinical experience regarding the use of navigation in BoNT injections in CD.
According to the majority of authors, the use of navigation equipment, such as ultrasound (US) and electromyography (EMG), definitely increases the effectiveness of CD treatment and reduces the likelihood of adverse events. For the first time, an algorithm for the diagnosis and treatment of CD is proposed, based on the use of the method of «double- (EMG and US) guided navigation», a variant for determining the comparative activity of muscles by the intensity of the EMG signal and the design of an individual «passport» of the CD. The possibilities of analyzing the US of muscles, drawing up an accurate treatment regimen, targeted administration of BoNT, and using a non-injectable EMG electrode are shown. We present 4 clinical cases demonstrating the advantages of the double- (EMG+US) guided navigation method over the EMG-guided navigation for injection. The proposed algorithm for the diagnosis and treatment of CD makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of treatment, optimize the costs of BoNT and diagnostic equipment (injection EMG needle).

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