Comparison of two different formulations of botulinum toxin A for the treatment of blepharospasm and hemifacial spasm.

AIM: To confirm and compare the therapeutic efficacies and adverse effects of Chinese botulinum toxin type A (CBTX-A, Lanzhou Biological Products Institute, China) and current Botox (Allergan Inc., CA, USA) in the treatment of blepharospasm (BS) and hemifacial spasm (HFS).

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

We performed an open, prospective, comparative trial comparing CBTX-A and Botox for the treatment of BS and HFS in 273 patients since 2006. 107 patients were treated with current Botox and 166 with CBTX-A, with the age, disease durations and severity of spasm matched. The patients enrolled were followed up for 6 months.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in the clinical effects of the two preparations, including the onset of response, peaked effect time and duration of effects (p > 0.05). The Cohen scores showed a significant reduction after BTX-A injections. Considerable improvement of symptoms for the BS and HFS patients was observed 7 days, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks after the injection with either current Botox or CBTX-A (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the effectiveness rate for both HFS patients and BS patients between CBTX-A group and Botox group (p > 0.05). No statistical differences were noted in adverse reactions between them (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The two preparations were both simple and effective for the patients with blepharospasm and hemifacial spasm.