Dystonia as a presenting sign of spinocerebellar ataxia type 1.

We report on a 39-year-old man who presented initially with marked blepharospasm, oromandibular dystonia and retrocollis and one year later developed mild ataxia. Our findings suggest that dystonia can be a disabling presenting sign of SCA1 and support the clinical heterogeneity of SCA1, highlighting the importance of considering this entity in patients combining dystonia and cerebellar ataxia. Copyright 2003 Movement Disorder Society