Swallowing disorders in patients with blepharospasm

Blepharospasm is a focal dystonia characterized by involuntary eye closure due to abnormal contraction of orbicular eyelid muscles. When blepharospasm is associated to the presence of involuntary oromandibular movements, it is termed Meige syndrome. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of deglutition alterations in patients with concurrent blepharospasm and Meige syndrome. Twenty consecutive patients were studied by video fluoroscopy using a barium technique. The 4 stages of deglutition were investigated. Ninety percent of patients (18 cases) presented deglutition disorders. The more commonly found alterations were premature food drop, 15 cases (83%) and vallecuale residuals, 14 cases (78%). Sixty seven percent of abnormal findings occurred in the third stage of deglutition. Eighty-nine percent of patients (16) presented more than one swallowing alteration. There was a positive and significant correlation between the number of alterations and patient's age or disease duration. Prevalence of swallowing disorders in the healthy elderly population is reported to be 44%. In our series it reached 90%, suggesting that our findings might be related not only with age but also with a more widespread dystonia exceeding the orofacial muscles.