Treatment of Blepharospasm with Methylphenidate: A Telemedicine Study

The treatment of choice for blepharospasm and related craniofacial dystonias involves local injection of botulinum toxins. However, some individuals report incomplete or short-duration responses, so additional therapies are sometimes needed.

To assess the potential value of methylphenidate as an add-on therapy in this population.

Six individuals with craniofacial dystonia were given trials of methylphenidate. Videos were collected via a telemedicine platform before and after treatment, and four clinicians applied five different rating scales to score severity blinded to treatment state. Patients also were asked to provide their subjective impressions of any change in their condition, and a computer vision tool was applied to the videos to estimate overall change in eye open-ness.

Five of six individuals reported improvements with methylphenidate. The improvements were corroborated with blinded clinician-rated scales and computer vision.

Methylphenidate can provide at least partial relief of symptoms in craniofacial dystonias.