Camptocormia and dropped head syndrome as a clinic picture of myotonic myopathy

Dropped head syndrome is primarily based on weakness localized at neck extensors. It may result from motor neuron disease, myasthenia gravis, and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and also from various neuromuscular diseases including inflammatory, dystrophic and metabolic myopathies. Camptocormia (CC) on the other hand is an unusual condition characterized by progressive weakness of the extensor vertebral muscles and results in involuntary trunk flexion. CC may emerge as a clinical feature of many different conditions such as several myopathies and Parkinson's disease. The association of dropped head syndrome with CC has been rarely published in the literature. However, this is the only case presenting with concomitant dropped head syndrome and CC as a clinical picture of myotonic dystrophy (MD). In this report we aimed to represent a female patient, who was diagnosed as having myotonic dystrophy, with concurrent dropped head syndrome and CC. (C) 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.