Objective:

Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a movement disorder of the seventh nerve which is characterised by involuntary clonic or tonic contractions of the muscles innervated by the facial nerve. In this study, we aimed to search whether there was a relationship between vitamin D status and severity of disease.

Methods:

Forty-six HFS patients were included to the study, who have been followed up in University of Health Sciences Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Neurology Department Movement Disorders outpatient clinic. Patients were regularly receiving botulinum toxin injections. Demographic features and vitamin D, calcium and phosphate levels were measured in winter. Severity of disease was rated on a 0-4 scale. The relationship between vitamin D status and the severity of disease was evaluated.

Results:

The mean age of the patients was 59.58±9.8 years. Thirty-five patients (76.1%) were female and 11 patients (23.9%) were male. Mean duration of disease was 5.30±4.59 years. Moderate and severe functional impairment were seen in most of the patients (n:18 (39.1%), moderate); n:15 (32.6%), severe, respectively). There was no significant difference between duration and severity of disease (p=0.512). Vitamin D levels were compared between four groups according to severity of disease scale and there was no significant difference (p=0.291).

Conclusion:

Even though there was no relationship between the severity of HFS and vitamin D status, further controlled studies in a larger population were needed to enlighten this finding.

Keywords: Hemifacial spasm, vitamin D, botulinum toxin