Treatment of blepharospasm with apraclonidine.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To describe improvement in blepharospasm with apraclonidine.

BACKGROUND:

Blepharospasm is a focal dystonia involving chiefly the orbicularis oculi and periocular muscles resulting in involuntary sustained eyelid closure. Botulinum toxin injection is the mainstay of treatment with meaningful improvement in over 85% of patients, but the effects often wear off within 3-4months. Apraclonidine is an alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonist, which causes contraction of superior tarsal (Müller) muscle which may improve blepharospasm-related eyelid closure. We propose that apraclonidine may be a useful short-term treatment in patients with blepharospasm, particularly during wearing off from botulinum toxin injection.

METHODS:

Patients who had pre-mature wearing off of botulinum injection effect were evaluated before and after the administration of 2 drops of apraclonidine 0.5%-1% solution to each eye. Subjective patient impressions and examiner's impression of symptoms pre and post-apraclonidine administration were recorded. A blinded rater evaluated the videos and provided an independent assessment of the severity of symptoms pre- and post-administration, using a 0-4 scale.

RESULTS:

Our study included 7 patients (4 male) with a mean age of 61years and mean duration of blepharospasm of 3.6years. There was a subjective, albeit transient (about 2-4h) improvement in blepharospasm reported by all patients and by the examiner. The mean severity scores, based on blinded video ratings, showed a reduction from of 3.4 pre-administration to 2.3 post-administration of apraclonidine (p<0.025). No adverse effects were noted.

CONCLUSIONS:

Apraclonidine is a potentially useful medication for short term management of blepharospasm symptoms while awaiting botulinum toxin injection.

• Authors: Dhanya Vijayakumar, Subhashie Wijemanne, Joseph Jankovic
• Journal: Journal of the neurological sciences (J Neurol Sci) Vol. 372 Pg. 57-59 (Jan 15 2017) ISSN: 1878-5883 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 28017248 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Video-Audio Media)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Chemical References

• Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists
• Neurotoxins
• apraclonidine
• Botulinum Toxins
• Clonidine

Topics

• Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists (therapeutic use)
• Aged
• Blepharospasm (drug therapy)
• Botulinum Toxins (therapeutic use)
• Clonidine (analogs & derivatives, therapeutic use)
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Neurotoxins (therapeutic use)