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Botulinum Toxin Therapy of Dystonia

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Dystonia and Dystonic Syndromes

Abstract

Botulinum toxin (BT) is infamous as the compound with the highest toxic potency of any natural or man-made substance causing the clinical syndrome of botulism in man and animals. At the end of the 1970s, this perception began to change, when BT was first used by Alan B. Scott to treat strabismus in children. It soon became clear that this had established a completely novel therapeutic principle which could be used in various muscle hyperactivity syndromes. Subsequently BT was used in blepharospasm, hemifacial spasm and cervical dystonia, thus reaching neurology. Here its use exploded and soon numerous other medical specialties became involved. With its use in crocodile tears, pioneered by Manuel Meyer in Zurich, exocrine glands became a second principal target tissue for BT. Recently, BT’s use for treatment of pain syndromes was established. For most of its indications, BT therapy is the therapy of choice. For some, it has revolutionised therapy altogether. This, together with its exploding use in cosmetics, has generated an industry with annual sales in excess of 3 billion US dollars. BT’s use in dystonia, however, is still one of the most important indications for BT, both with respect to the amount of BT used and with respect to the therapeutic impact generated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Movement Disorders Section, Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany

    Dirk Dressler MD, PhD

  2. Department of Neurology, Palacky University Medical School, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    Petr Kanovsky

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  1. Dirk Dressler MD, PhD
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  2. Petr Kanovsky
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Correspondence to Dirk Dressler MD, PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Palacky University Medical School University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    Petr Kanovsky

  2. Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, University College London Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom

    Kailash P. Bhatia

  3. Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, The Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines

    Raymond L. Rosales

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Dressler, D., Kanovsky, P. (2015). Botulinum Toxin Therapy of Dystonia. In: Kanovsky, P., Bhatia, K., Rosales, R. (eds) Dystonia and Dystonic Syndromes. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1516-9_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1516-9_10

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