Positive Correlation between Severity of Blepharospasm and Thalamic Glucose Metabolism

A 43-year-old woman with drug-related blepharospasm was followed up for 22 months. She had undergone etizolam treatment for 19 years for indefinite complaints. We examined her cerebral glucose metabolism 5 times (between days 149 and 688 since presentation), using positron emission tomography, and identified regions of interest in the thalamus, caudate nucleus, putamen, and primary somatosensory area on both sides. The severity of the blepharospasm was evaluated by PET scanning using the Wakakura classification. Sixteen women (mean age 42.4 ± 11.7 years) were examined as normal controls. The thalamic glucose metabolism in our patient was significantly increased on days 149, 212, and 688. The severity of the blepharospasm was positively correlated with the thalamic glucose metabolism, suggesting that the severity of blepharospasms reflects thalamic activity.