Memory-Guided Saccades and Non-Motor Symptoms Improve After Botulinum Toxin Therapy in Cervical Dystonia

Cervical dystonia (CD) is a condition characterized by involuntary activity of cervical muscles, which is often accompanied by various non-motor symptoms. Recent studies indicate impaired saccadic eye movements in CD. Local administration of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A), which causes temporary paralysis of the injected muscle, is the first-line treatment of focal dystonia, including CD. To our knowledge, concurrent observation of the effect of BoNT/A on smooth eye movements, voluntary saccades, memory-guided saccades, and antisaccades in CD has not yet been explored. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of BoNT/A on eye movements and non-motor symptoms in patients with CD, which, when altered, could imply a central effect of BoNT/A. Thirty patients with CD performed smooth pursuit, prosaccadic expression, memory-guided saccades, and antisaccade tasks; eye movements were recorded by an eye tracker. Motor and non-motor symptoms, including depression, anxiety, pain, disability, and cognitive changes prior to and after BoNT/A administration, were also evaluated. The number of correct onward counts ( < 0.001), overall correct memory-guided saccades count ( = 0.005), motor symptoms ( = 0.001), and non-motor symptoms, i.e., anxiety ( = 0.04), depression ( = 0.02), and cognition ( < 0.001) markedly improved after BoNT/A administration. Memory-guided saccades, depression, and anxiety improve after BoNT/A in CD.