Madge Hislop <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Eye problems
Lane suffers from blepharospasm--forced eyelid closure. Recently he
has increasingly long periods when his eyes are clenched close and will not
open. I have found very little about this condition in the literature from
the American Parkinson Disease Association.
If any of you have experienced this problem would you tell us about
it. Have you found any helpful ways to eliminate the problem or alleviate
it?
Thanks,
Madge c/g for Lane 64/4
Madge:
Blepharospasm is a tight closure of the eyes that can interfere with seeing,
driving, reading, and functioning socially. Although it can be in reaction to
pain, dry eye, a foreign body in the eye, and other local phenomeona, it can
also result from an underlying neurologic problem, e.g. a facial dystonia ,
often progressive over time to involve the lower face as well as the eyes.
Blepharospasm and apraxia of eye opening are both reported in conjunction
with PD and I have seen patients with each of these. [Even pubished a paper
on the subject].
When blepharospasm is reactive, i.e. from dry eyes, lots of non-preserved
tears and punctal occlusion can help. [Of course, if one eye is closed, it's
likely diplopia avoidance and not blepharospasm.
For essential blepharospasm, the treatment of choice is Botulinum Toxin
[BOTOX or OCULINUM] injected into the eyelids. This is done right in my
office examining chair, takes only a few minutes, is reasonably painless,
and is marvelously effective. Unfortunately, it must be repeated every 3-4
months.
Since essential blepharospasm is a movement disorder, your PD specialist
should be able to treat it If not, there is a Blepharospasm society and
they can provide more info as well as the name of a treating physician in
your area.
Jacquie Winterkorn
