Smell and taste in idiopathic blepharospasm

AbstractThe pathophysiology of blepharospasm is incompletely understood. Current concepts suggest that blepharospasm is a network disorder, involving basal ganglia, thalamus, cortex, and, possibly, the cerebellum. Tracing, imaging, and clinical studies revealed that these structures are also concerned with olfaction and taste. Because of this anatomical overlap, dysfunction of the chemical senses in blepharospasm is expected. Injections of botulinum toxin into the eyelid muscles are the first-line treatment of blepharospasm. Yet, the effects of botulinum toxin on the chemical senses have not been systematically assessed. To contribute to a better understanding of blepharospasm, olfactory and gustatory abilities were assessed in 17 subjects with blepharospasm and 17 age-/sex-matched healthy controls. Sniffin Sticks were used to assess odor threshold, odor discrimination, and odor identification. Results of these three Sniffin Sticks subtests were added to the composite olfactory score. The Taste Strips were applied to assess taste. In an adjacent study, we assessed the sense of smell and taste in eight subjects with blepharospasm before and 4 weeks after botulinum toxin treatment. Subjects with blepharospasm had significantly lower (= worse) scores for odor threshold and for the composite olfactory score than healthy controls, while odor discrimination, odor identification, and the composite taste score were not different between groups. The adjacent study revealed that botulinum toxin did not impact the chemical senses. In this study, subjects with blepharospasm had a lower (= worse) odor threshold than healthy controls. As olfaction is important in daily life, findings justify further research of olfaction in blepharospasm.

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Botulinum Toxin: An Update on Pharmacology and Newer Products in Development

Toxins ◽

10.3390/toxins13010058 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 58

Author(s):

Supriyo Choudhury ◽

Mark R. Baker ◽

Suparna Chatterjee ◽

Hrishikesh Kumar

Keyword(s):

Botulinum Toxin ◽

Clinical Use ◽

First Line ◽

High Demand ◽

Short Term ◽

Medical Specialties ◽

Naturally Occurring ◽

Pharmacokinetic Properties ◽

Clinical Benefits ◽

First Line Treatment

Since its introduction as a treatment for strabismus, botulinum toxin (BoNT) has had a phenomenal journey and is now recommended as first-line treatment for focal dystonia, despite short-term clinical benefits and the risks of adverse effects. To cater for the high demand across various medical specialties, at least six US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved formulations of BoNT are currently available for diverse labelled indications. The toxo-pharmacological properties of these formulations are not uniform and thus should not be used interchangeably. Synthetic BoNTs and BoNTs from non-clostridial sources are not far from clinical use. Moreover, the study of mutations in naturally occurring toxins has led to modulation in the toxo-pharmacokinetic properties of BoNTs, including the duration and potency. We present an overview of the toxo-pharmacology of conventional and novel BoNT preparations, including those awaiting imminent translation from the laboratory to the clinic.

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Role of an EpCAM auto-antibody in ovarian cancer patients with special regard to disseminated tumor cells in bone marrow

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2009.27.15_suppl.e16557 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 27 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. e16557-e16557

Author(s):

M. Heubner ◽

S. Kasimir-Bauer ◽

D. Errico ◽

D. Herlyn ◽

R. Kimmig ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ovarian Cancer ◽

Bone Marrow ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Tumor Cells ◽

Disseminated Tumor Cells ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Line Treatment ◽

First Line ◽

Platinum Based Chemotherapy ◽

First Line Treatment

e16557 Background: EpCAM is a tumor associated antigen which is frequently expressed in ovarian cancer. Recently, an autoantibody (AAB) against EpCAM has been identified in ovarian cancer patients. Autoantibodies are immunogene factors and might be of prognostic importance. We showed that disseminated tumor cells (DTC) in bone marrow carry the EpCAM antigen on their surface and correlate with poorer progression free survival (PFS). Here, we evaluated whether EpCAM-AABs have an impact on clinical parameters or the presence of DTC in ovarian cancer patients. Methods: EpCAM-AABs were determined in sera of 28 healthy voluntary age matched females and 62 patients with primary epithelial ovarian cancer before and after platinum-based chemotherapy using a recombinant EpCAM-epitope for antibody- detection by ELISA technique. Mean follow up time was 13 months. DTC in BM were detected by immunocytochemistry applying the pan cytokeratin antibody A45-B/B3. All samples exceeding the mean antibody titer of healthy controls plus 2 standard deviations were considered positive. Results: The antibody titer of healthy controls was 0.061 + 0.015. Using a cut-off value of 0.091, we found 9/62 (15%) ovarian cancer patients to be positive for EpCAM-AABs after first-line treatment. Interestingly, no positive AAB-titers were seen before therapy. Using the paired T-Test, we noted a significant posttherapeutic increase of AABs (CI 0.95, p < 0.0001). Analysis of PFS, FIGO stage, resection status, grading, age, sensitivity to platinum based chemotherapy and DTC did not reveal significant associations with positive EpCAM-AAB titers. Conclusions: The clinical course of ovarian cancer patients and the prevalence of DTC were not altered by EpCAM-AABs. Interestingly, we observed an increase of antibody-levels after first-line treatment. For further validation, we intend to extend our patient collective. In future, it might also be interesting to investigate the impact of AABs on response to targeted therapies against EpCAM. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

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Outcome of Injection Botulinum Toxin in Blepharospasm

Nepalese Journal of Ophthalmology ◽

10.3126/nepjoph.v13i1.30589 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 40-49

Author(s):

Malita Amatya ◽

Ben Limbu ◽

Purnima Rajkarnikar ◽

Hom Bahadur Gurung ◽

Rohit Saiju

Keyword(s):

Botulinum Toxin ◽

Hemifacial Spasm ◽

Botulinum Toxin Type A ◽

Botulinum Toxin Type ◽

Line Treatment ◽

First Line ◽

Essential Blepharospasm ◽

Meige Syndrome ◽

The Mean ◽

First Line Treatment

Introduction: Blepharospasm is a condition of involuntary spasm of the orbicularis oculi muscle which leads to intermittent or complete closure of the eyelids. Botulinum toxin is the currently recommended first line treatment for such blepharospasm. This study aims to find out the outcome of injection Botulinum toxin Type A in Blepharospasm. Materials and methods: It was a hospital based, prospective, interventional study conducted on patients diagnosed as Benign essential blepharospasm (BEB), Meige syndrome (MS) and Hemifacial spasm (HFS) by oculoplastic surgeon at Oculoplasty department OPD, Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, from December 2018 to November 2019. After taking all standard precautions for botulinum toxin injections, 6 to 8 sites for injecting 2.5 to 5 IU of the toxin were given. All the patients were evaluated before and after injections according to Jankovic spasm grading and improvement in functional impairment scale and followed on one week, one month, three month and when the symptoms reappeared. Results: A total of 43 cases which included 32 cases of Benign essential Blepharospasm, 9 Hemifacial spasm and 2 Meige syndrome. The mean Jankovic severity score was 3.51 ± 0.51 (range 3-4). The mean improvement in functional score was 2.60 ± 0.54 (range 1-3), was statistically significant (p-value <0.001).The effective period of injection was 130 ± 20.82 (93 – 189) days.38 patients had repeated injections after reappearance of symptoms. 4 patients had side effects of redness and hematoma at one site. Conclusion: This study concludes that Botulinum toxin type A is effective in the management of Benign essential blepharospasm, Hemifacial spasm and Meige syndrome. This along with a good safety profile justifies its role as a first line treatment therapy in blepharospasm. However, it is a temporary treatment option where the effect lasts for a short period of time and repeated injections are required.

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