Botulinum toxin in the treatment of neurological disorders.

Botulinum toxin therapy is safe and effective in the treatment of different movement disorders, especially focal dystonias. We reviewed botulinum toxin treatment of 97 patients: 36 had blepharospasm, 41 had torticollis, and 20 had diverse movement disorders. Patients with blepharospasm and torticollis improved markedly after botulinum toxin injections. The most common side effect in BS patients was ptosis (44.4%); in TC patients, it was dysphagia (29.3%). The mean duration of the improvement in both groups was 3.4 months. Very promising results were obtained also in the heterogeneous group including patients with other focal dystonias and cerebral palsy. On the basis of these results, we concluded that BTA injections must now be considered the mainstay of therapy for focal dystonias and other involuntary movement disorders.