Pallidal stimulation for medically intractable blepharospasm
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 23, 2026

Breathing-controlled Electrical Stimulation BreEStim for Management of Neuropathic Pain and Spasticity
Published on: January 10, 2013
Kazumichi Yamada1, Naoki Shinojima2, Tadashi Hamasaki3
1Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Kumamoto University Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan.
Abstract:
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the globus pallidus internus (GPi) is an established procedure to improve generalised, segmental craniofacial dystonia. However, no studies have addressed the applicability of DBS for blepharospasm as a focal craniofacial dystonia. A 52-year-old man developed medically intractable involuntary eye closure. Because the abnormal movement was observed exclusively in the eyelids, he was diagnosed not with Meige's syndrome but with blepharospasm as a focal craniofacial dystonia. He underwent stereotactic surgery under general anaesthesia for bilateral GPi-DBS. Continuous GPi stimulation almost completely abolished the blepharospasm. 15 months after the operation, his preoperative scores on the Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale (=8 points) decreased to 1 (87.5% improvement). The present study demonstrates the applicability of GPi-DBS for treating blepharospasm presenting as focal dystonia. Further studies with accumulated case series are needed to confirm the effect of DBS on blepharospasm and other focal craniofacial dystonias.
Related Concept Videos
Direct-Acting Cholinergic Agonists: Therapeutic Uses
Accessory Structures of the Eye
Ophthalmic Drug Delivery Systems
Open Angle Glaucoma: Treatment
Drugs such as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, α2- and...
Direct-Acting Cholinergic Agonists: Pharmacological Actions
Skeletal Muscle Relaxants: Therapeutic Uses

