Botulinum toxin A injection in the treatment of hemifacial spasm.
There are conflicting reports concerning the variation in duration of symptoms relief for patients with hemifacial spasm who have undergone several injections of botulinum A toxin (BOTX-A). We present our experience of BOTX-A injections in Taiwanese patients to analyze this issues, and to inspect whether the efficacy of treatment depends on the pre-injection severity.


METHODS
From July 1992 to December 1994, 137 patients received injections of BOTX-A. We used objective and subjective score system to evaluate the efficacy and side effects of BOTX-A injection.


RESULTS
The overall successful rate of substantial relief of spasm was 88%. The mean duration of response was 20 weeks. Patents with more severe spasm tended to have shorter duration of improvement. The effects of consecutive injections remained fairly constant over the first 4 injections.


CONCLUSIONS
The BOTX-A injection is an effective and safe treatment for patients with hemifacial spasm and the effect could be sustained over the consecutive injections.
Department of Neurology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Medical College, Taipei, Taiwan.
R S
RS
Chen
C S
CS
Lu
C H
CH
Tsai
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001764:Blepharospasm / Q000188:drug therapy; D019274:Botulinum Toxins, Type A / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D005152:Facial Muscles / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000294:innervation; D005155:Facial Nerve Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009465:Neuromuscular Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D013035:Spasm / Q000188:drug therapy*
D009465:Neuromuscular Agents; D019274:Botulinum Toxins, Type A