Abstract:Blepharospasm is a focal dystonia of the orbicularis oculi muscles, producing excessive eye closure. The etiology and pathogenesis is still unclear now. It is usually appearing in adult period and predominant in females. The symptoms are typically triggered by stress, fatigue, intense light or individual factors. At advanced stages patients develop functional blindness. At present the main treatments include: botulinum toxin(BTX), surgical procedures, systemic and ocular drugs and traditional Chinese medicine treatment. BTX administration has been an effective treatment. Surgical procedures have good effect but should be limited to the rare patients that do not respond to botulinum toxin treatment. A great variety of drugs have poor results. Chinese medicine has a certain therapeutic effect. Transcranial magnetic stimulation can improve symptoms. The epidemiology, anatomy, physiology, clinical manifestations, differential diagnosis, pathogenesis and treatment system were reviewed in this paper.
