What is blepharospasm?

Blepharospasm is an involuntary spasmodic contraction of the ocular, orbital, and periorbital orbicularis oris muscles and is a relatively common focal dystonia. It starts in adulthood and is more common in the age group of 50 to 70 years, with more females than males. Early manifestations of the patient is increased blinking, double eyelids sinking, often paroxysmal difficulty in opening both eyes when gazing at people and objects, nervousness, emotional upset when blepharospasm aggravated, talking, singing, relaxation or touching a certain point of the maxillofacial region blepharospasm can be relieved. As the disease progresses, both eyelids are involved, resulting in persistent eyelid closure and even functional blindness. Blepharospasm can be accompanied by dystonia and related movement disorders such as Meige syndrome, Parkinson’s syndrome, and tremor paralysis, which are genetically linked in one-third of patients. The diagnosis of simple blepharospasm is made in a very small number of cases, and a series of tests must be performed to rule out neurologic or other disorders with blepharospasm-like signs and symptoms. Many patients with blepharospasm have suffered for a long time before receiving a definitive diagnosis and treatment, and often misdiagnosis delays timely treatment.