Treatment of benign essential blepharospasm with finasteride: a case report

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.