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Blepharospasm

Blepharospasm (uncontrollable blinking) is a type of focal dystonia, a localized movement disorder that causes abnormal muscle spasms. Blepharospasm affects approximately 25,000 people in the United States.1 Typically, symptoms begin after age 50, and women are affected more often than men.2

Risk Factors and Symptoms

Patients suffering from the condition experience an involuntary clenching of the muscles that control the eyelid causing uncontrollable blinking generally affecting both eyes. Blepharospasm can diminish a patient's capacity to perform everyday activities by interfering with their ability to see due to the lid blocking their eyes. Increased blinking can progress from an inability to open the eyelids to functional blindness.

Treatment

Drug therapy for blepharospasm has limitations and results have been inconsistent.3 Patients with blepharospasm are generally referred to ophthalmologists or neurologists for treatment. A generally accepted standard of care for blepharospasm in adults is treatment with BOTOX® (Botulinum Toxin Type A). If a functionally impaired patient does not respond to less invasive treatments, surgical therapy to remove some or all of the muscles responsible for eyelid closure (a procedure called protracter myectomy) may be recommended. If you suffer from blepharospasm, talk to your eye care professional about treatment options.

Important Information about BOTOX® 


  1. US Food and Drug Administration. Orphan products: new hope for people with rare disorders. FDA Consumer - Special Report. January 1995. Available at: http://fda.gov/fdac/special/newdrug/orphan.html. Accessed: March 15, 2004
  2. We Move. Blepharospasm. 2004. Available at: http://www.wemove.org/dys/dys_fbleph.html. Accessed: March 15, 2004
  3. Benign Essential Blepharospasm Research Foundation. Blepharospasm. Available at: http://www.blepharospasm.org. Accessed: December 10, 2003