Tyrosine hydroxylase and levodopa responsive dystonia.

It has been suggested that a form of inherited dystonia responsive to levodopa might be due to an abnormality of tyrosine hydroxylase gene. This hypothesis has been tested using a cDNA tyrosine hydroxylase gene probe in three families with this disorder. No evidence for genetic linkage between the disease and tyrosine hydroxylase loci was found; it is possible that the disorder results from a post-transcriptional defect confined to the brain.