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Updated: Jun 2, 2026
Measuring and Manipulating Functionally Specific Neural Pathways in the Human Motor System with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Published on: February 23, 2020
Effectiveness of unilateral pallidotomy for meige syndrome confirmed by motion analysis
István Valálik1, Akos Jobbágy, László Bognár
1Department of Neurosurgery, St. John's Hospital, Budapest, Hungary. valalik@parkinson.hu
Background:
We report the case of a 64-year-old woman with bilateral manifestation of Meige syndrome (MS) successfully treated with left-side unilateral ventroposterolateral pallidotomy.
Methods:
Symptoms were evaluated according to the Burke-Fahn-Marsden dystonia rating scale. Head tremor, blepharospasm and orofacial dyskinesia were measured with an infrared, video-based, computerized, real-time passive marker-based analyzer of motions (RTPAM).
Results:
The Burke-Fahn-Marsden score showed a 90.2% reduction (from 25.5 to 2.5) at 6 months, and an 88.2% long-lasting benefit (to 3.0) at the 3-year follow-up with good bilateral control of the blepharospasm and orofacial movements. The RTPAM showed a substantial regression of acceleration for all markers, and abolishment of the 4.8-Hz head tremor. The correlation between symmetrical markers, and between markers within the right and left sides, was significantly decreased.
Conclusions:
Pallidotomy with staged procedure is recommended for the treatment of MS in patients on whom deep brain stimulation could not be performed. In case of good bilateral benefits from the unilateral procedure, contralateral surgery is not needed. The RTPAM is a useful tool for the mapping of facial involuntary movements.
