Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41893553›Full record

ReviewToxins2026

Botulinum Toxin Treatment of Stiff Person Syndrome-A Critical Review and Update.

Ava Grace Tohidian, Samira Marie Comtesse, Shahroo Etemadmoghadam, Bahman Jabbari

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Toxins, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Ava Grace TohidianSchool of Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons, D02 YN77 Dublin, Ireland.ORCID 0009-0003-5864-4300
Samira Marie ComtesseFaculty of Medicine, Goethe University, 60590 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Shahroo EtemadmoghadamGlenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2548-9493
Bahman JabbariDepartment of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7204-8730

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Stiff person syndrome (SPS) is an autoimmune disorder with muscle stiffness and spasms, for which current therapies provide incomplete relief. Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) has been explored as an adjunctive symptomatic treatment. The aim of this review was to critically evaluate the clinical evidence for BoNT therapy in SPS. Using Medline, Scopus and Google Scholar, we identified nine reports that were published up to 1 January 2026. English articles and articles with information on study type, type/dose of BoNT and treatment results were included. One study was double-blind and placebo-controlled, one was retrospective and seven were single-case reports, comprising 46 patients. Open-label trials used botulinumtoxin-A (Botox, Dysport or Xeomin), while the blind study applied abobotulinumA (Dysport). All but one study (a case report) demonstrated motor improvement and a reduction in painful spasms associated with patient satisfaction. Reported doses ranged from 300 to 800 units for onabotulinumtoxinA and incobotulinumtoxinA and from 700 to 1000 units for abobotulinumtoxinA. The literature highlights the need for randomized clinical trials in larger cohorts, with careful selection of dose, injection sites, and adjunct physiotherapy, as well as an evaluation of early BoNT therapy in SPS. The novelty of this review lies in its critical synthesis of reported data and inclusion of most recent reports.

Indexed as

Botulinum Toxins, Type ANeuromuscular AgentsStiff-Person SyndromeHumansTreatment OutcomeabobotulinumtoxinABotulinum Toxins, Type AincobotulinumtoxinANeuromuscular AgentsabobotulinumtoxinAbotulinum neurotoxinbotulinum toxinincobotulinumtoxinAonabotulinumtoxinAphysiotherapystiff person syndrome

Identifiers

PMID41893553
PMCPMC13030071

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.