Our research group of Irish consultant neurologists (with an interest in movement disorders) and laboratory–based scientists (engineers in the Department of Neural Engineering in Trinity College Dublin) has been involved in finding the cause(s) of a movement disorder which affects about 600–800 individuals in Ireland. This movement disorder is called “adult-onset dystonia” and is manifested as abnormal irregular spasmodic muscle activity affecting the neck (cervical dystonia), the eyes (blepharospasm), the hand and forearm (focal hand dystonia, writer’s cramp, musician’s dystonia). The cause(s) of this disorder is/are unknown but considered to be due to a combination of inherited genetic factors and environmental exposures. We have published widely on this disorder and the alliance of clinical and engineering skills in hypothesis-driven research has been extremely productive. In order to increase awareness among the public and the scientific community, we wish to develop a website devoted to our research output and to explain the importance of the understanding the biological basis this disorder. To this end we have joined with Dystonia Ireland (the self-help group) to make available on this interactive website (with videos and animation) information about dystonia and the activities of both the research group and Dystonia Ireland. We will hold an information meeting for patients and relatives in May 2016. By developing and launching this website (and updating the Dystonia Ireland website) we would expect to increase awareness of this disorder in both Ireland and Europe and to highlight this important Irish research work funded by the Health Research Board.
