Blink reflex in newly diagnosed and treated patients with Wilson’s disease

• Published in: Journal of Neural Transmission 2021-12, Vol.128 (12), p.1873-1880
• Main Authors: Bembenek, Jan P., Kiryluk, Karolina, Inglot, Ewa, Litwin, Tomasz, Smoliński, Łukasz, Członkowska, Anna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blinking; Copper - metabolism; Hepatolenticular Degeneration - diagnosis; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neurology; Neurology and Preclinical Neurological Studies - Original; Neurology and Preclinical Neurological Studies - Original Article; Neurosciences; Prospective Studies; Psychiatry
• ISSN: 0300-9564; 1435-1463
• DOI: 10.1007/s00702-021-02432-x

Abnormal blink reflex (BR) results mainly from the dysfunction of reticular brainstem pathways and is one of the features of degenerative brain disorders. We aimed to investigate whether patients with Wilson’s disease (WD) have abnormal BR. This was a prospective, observational, single-center study. BR was assessed in accordance with generally accepted standards in 44 newly diagnosed treatment-naïve and 66 treated patients with WD. Any abnormal parameters in BR were observed in 45.5% treatment-naïve patients and 37.9% treated patients ( p  = 0.429). We also did not observe significant differences in BR parameters and frequency of abnormal findings between treated and treatment naïve patients. Abnormal findings in any of the BR parameters were more frequent in patients with neurological vs. non-neurological presentation (57.5 vs. 28.6%, p  = 0.002), present vs. absent Kayser–Fleischer ring (73 vs. 21.5%, p