Unified Dystonia Rating Scale (UDRS)

Unified Dystonia Rating Scale

Acronym: UDRS

Authors: Cynthia L. Comella, Sue Leurgans, Joanne Wuu, Glenn T. Stebbins, Teresa Chmura, and the Dystonia Study Group

The Unified Dystonia Rating Scale (UDRS) was designed to include a more detailed assessment of the severity of dystonia in individual body areas. Each of 14 body regions are rated for dystonia severity and duration. The proximal and distal limbs are given separate ratings. Ratings for each body region are totaled for an overall rating of dystonia severity. The UDRS was tested in a large sample of dystonia patients at multiple sites exhibiting the full spectrum of dystonia severity.

Original Publication │ View the Scale (PDF)

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Year Published: 2003

Last Updated: No changes since publication

Assessment Type: ClinRO

Estimated Time to Complete: 5 minutes

Available Translations: None

Additional Scale Publications:

Susatia F, Malaty IA, Foote KD, Wu SS, Zeilman PR, Mishra M, Rodriguez RL, ul Haq I, Jacobson CE, Sun A, Okun MS. An evaluation of rating scales utilized for deep brain stimulation for dystonia. Journal of Neurology. 2010 Jan 1;257(1):44.

Monbaliu E, Ortibus E, Roelens F, Desloovere K, Deklerck J, Prinzie P, De Cock P, Feys H. Rating scales for dystonia in cerebral palsy: reliability and validity. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. 2010 Jun;52(6):570-5.

Thobois S, Taira T, Comella C, Moro E, Bressman S, Albanese AA. Pre‐operative evaluations for DBS in dystonia. Movement Disorders. 2011 Jun;26(S1):S17-22.

Albanese A, Sorbo FD, Comella C, Jinnah HA, Mink JW, Post B, Vidailhet M, Volkmann J, Warner TT, Leentjens AF, Martinez‐Martin P. Dystonia rating scales: critique and recommendations. Movement Disorders. 2013 Jun 15;28(7):874-83.

Peterson DA, Berque P, Jabusch HC, Altenmüller E, Frucht SJ. Rating scales for musician's dystonia: the state of the art. Neurology. 2013 Aug 6;81(6):589-98.

Stewart K, Harvey A, Johnston LM. A systematic review of scales to measure dystonia and choreoathetosis in children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. 2017 Aug;59(8):786-95.