[Blepharospasm treatment with botulinum toxin (follow-up)]

Within a period of 14 months 73 patients with idiopathic blepharospasm which could not be treated satisfactorily by any other form of therapy were treated by injections of botulin toxin. In 55 cases the follow-up period was sufficiently long to permit an evaluation. Thirty-five patients were temporarily completely free of complaints; in one patient there was no improvement. In the remaining cases there was a slight to distinct reduction in symptoms, which often cause severe suffering. The full effect of the drug lasted between 1 and 27 weeks (average 7.5 weeks). No systemic side-effects were observed; local side-effects (subcutaneous bleeding during injection, slight ptosis, intermittent diplopia) seen in 6 cases were of very minor significance.