Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background and Importance Benign essential blepharospasm (BEB) is a focal and functional cerebral dystonia characterised by excessive involuntary blinking that can lead, in severe cases, to functional blindness due to the inability to reopen the eyes at will. Its prevalence is estimated at approximately 1/33,000. Treatment is based on neurobotulinum toxin A injections. Aim and Objectives Our objective was to analyse the situation of patients in our hospital and to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment with botulinum toxin A. Material and Methods A retrospective study was performed. Sociodemographic data were obtained from the review of medical records. The variables used were: age, sex, indication, commercial presentation of neurotoxin A used, number of administrations, associated pathologies, responses and adverse effects. Results 39 patients were included in the study period which was from January 2021 to September 2024, all female and aged between 61–82 years, with a median 73 years. Forty-four percent were bilateral blepharospasm. In 26/39 patients the commercial presentation Botox was used, in 12/39 Xeomin was used and in 1/39 Dysport was used, with a mean of 3 administrations per patient and a mean time between administrations of 4.3 months. As for associated diseases, 9/39 patients had Sjögren’s syndrome. Adverse effects were only observed in one of the patients treated with botulinum toxin A, tearing and difficulty in closing the eyes for 45 days of evolution, which subsided spontaneously. The treatment was effective in 28/39 patients while 11/39 presented moderate effectiveness to the treatment. Conclusion and Relevance The response to treatment with botulinum toxin A was generally favourable in all our patients, being only moderately effective in 11/39 patients. In addition, in terms of safety, only nine of our patients had adverse effects that subsided spontaneously. We can therefore conclude that the use of botulinum toxin A in blepharospasm appears to be an effective and safe treatment. References and/or Acknowledgements Conflict of Interest No conflict of interest
Authors: J Cordero, R Castillejo-García, C Moreno-Ramos
Institution: Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena
Language: English
Subfield: Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4408376125