Effects of botulinum toxin type A on vibration induced facilitation of motor evoked potentials in spasmodic torticollis.

It has not been clarified if botulinum toxin (BTX) injection leads to muscle spindle dysfunction in man. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that BTX application reduces the facilitation of a magnetic evoked response (MEP).We used the vibration induced facilitation of an MEP of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) as a surrogate marker for muscle spindle function in 20 healthy subjects and 10 patients with idiopathic rotational torticollis in whom BTX was injected unilaterally.The increase in the amplitude and area of the MEPs in the clinically not affected and untreated SCM of the patients did not differ significantly from the controls. At baseline, the vibration induced increase in th…