Machine Learning for Predicting Individual Severity of Blepharospasm Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Accumulating diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) evidence suggests that white matter abnormalities evaluated by local diffusion homogeneity (LDH) or fractional anisotropy (FA) occur in patients with blepharospasm (BSP), both of which are significantly correlated with disease severity. However, whether the individual severity of BSP can be identified using these DTI metrics remains unknown. We aimed to investigate whether a combination of machine learning techniques and LDH or FA can accurately identify the individual severity of BSP. Forty-one patients with BSP were assessed using the Jankovic Rating Scale and DTI. The patients were assigned to non-functionally and functionally limited groups according to their Jankovic Rating Scale scores. A machine learning scheme consisting of beam search and support vector machines was designed to identify non-functionally versus functionally limited outcomes, with the input features being LDH or FA in 68 white matter regions. The proposed machine learning scheme with LDH or FA yielded an overall accuracy of 88.67 versus 85.19% in identifying non-functionally limited versus functionally limited outcomes. The scheme also identified a sensitivity of 91.40 versus 85.87% in correctly identifying functionally limited outcomes, a specificity of 83.33 versus 83.67% in accurately identifying non-functionally limited outcomes, and an area under the curve of 93.7 versus 91.3%. These findings suggest that a combination of LDH or FA measurements and a sophisticated machine learning scheme can accurately and reliably identify the individual disease severity in patients with BSP.

Comparison of Two Botulinum Neurotoxin A Injection Patterns with or without the Medial Lower Eyelid in the Treatment of Blepharospasm

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of two botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injection patterns with or without the medial lower eyelid (MLE) in treating benign essential blepharospasm (BEB) and influencing lacrimal drainage. Two different injection patterns of BoNT-A were randomly applied to 98 eyes of 49 BEB patients: MLE Group received a full injection pattern of 5 sites and non-MLE Group received a MLE waived injection pattern of 4 sites. Tear breakup time (BUT), Schirmer I test, lagophthalmos height, and lower lid tear meniscus height (TMH) were measured and Jankovic Rating Scale (JRS) was surveyed before injection and at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after injection. The symptom of BEB was relieved in both groups as suggested by JRS scores at all time points after injection, and MLE Group came up with a better JRS score at 3 months. The increases of Schirmer I test value and TMH in MLE Group were higher than those in non-MLE Group at 1 week after injection. This study shows that the MLE-involved full injection pattern is a better choice for patients with BEB. It has longer-lasting effects in relieving BEB symptoms and better efficacy in reducing lacrimal drainage. Clinical Trials registration number isNCT02327728.