Brueghel Syndrome or Meige Syndrome? Two Sides of a Same Disease.

Abstract

Different eponyms such as "Wood syndrome," Meige syndrome, "Brueghel syndrome," "Blepharospasm plus syndrome" have been used to describe segmental craniocervical dystonias. These facial and/or oromandibular movement disorders are characterized by muscle contractions and spasms involving eyes, facial region, and sometimes pharynx, jaw, floor of the mouth, and tongue. The pathophysiology of craniocervical dystonia is poorly understood, but abnormal plasticity and impaired inhibition are suspected. Injection of botulinum toxin appears to be the best therapeutic option for treating segmental craniocervical dystonia. The objective of this chapter is to depict the history of segmental craniocervical dystonia in order to delineate the phenotypic spectrum of the disorders and to distinguish this entity from other facial and/or oromandibular movement disorders.