Skip to main content

Some NLM-NCBI services and products are experiencing heavy traffic, which may affect performance and availability. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. For assistance, please contact our Help Desk at info@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry logoLink to Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
. 1999 Jul;67(1):90–93. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.67.1.90

Generalised muscular weakness after botulinum toxin injections for dystonia: a report of three cases

K Bhatia 1, A Munchau 1, P Thompson 1, M Houser 1, V Chauhan 1, M Hutchinson 1, A Shapira 1, C Marsden 1
PMCID: PMC1736426  PMID: 10369829

Abstract

Three patients are reported on who developed transient generalised weakness after receiving therapeutic doses of botulinum toxin for cervical dystonia (one case) and symptomatic hemidystonia (two cases) respectively. Clinical and electrophysiological findings were in keeping with mild botulism. All patients had received previous botulinum toxin injections without side effects and one patient continued injections without recurrence of generalised weakness. The cause is most likely presynaptic inhibition due to systemic spread of the toxin. Patients with symptomatic dystonia may be more likely to have this side effect and botulinum toxin injections in these patients should be carried out cautiously.



Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (82.5 KB).


Articles from Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES