title: Treatment of benign essential blepharospasm with finasteride: a case report.
abstract: We report the case of a 75-year-old man with a 35-year history of benign essential blepharospasm, which was poorly responsive to botulinum toxin. The patient had also developed Parkinson disease over the past 2 years. After his condition was diagnosed as benign prostatic hypertrophy, he started finasteride (FIN, 5 mg/d) treatment. During the following month, he experienced a significant attenuation of the severity of his dystonic symptoms; this improvement remained stable for the course of the therapy, with no notable adverse effect and no alterations of the symptoms of Parkinson disease. Discontinuation of FIN led to an abrupt exacerbation of symptoms, which was promptly reversed by resumption of the therapy. This case highlights the possibility that FIN may represent a useful therapeutic option in the treatment of certain clusters of benign essential blepharospasm.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological and Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy. bortolat@usc.edu
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bortolato
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cannas
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Solla
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Puligheddu
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muroni
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marrosu
mesh_terms: D058891:5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000368:Aged; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001764:Blepharospasm / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019274:Botulinum Toxins, Type A / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018120:Finasteride / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D058891:5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors; D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D007980:Levodopa; D018120:Finasteride; D019274:Botulinum Toxins, Type A