Protective Effect of Blepharospasm on the Anterior Segment of the Eye

Cilj rada bio je odrediti ulogu blefarospazma kao zaštitnog čimbenika prednjeg segmenta oka usporedbom stupnja blefarospazma i promjenama prednjeg segmenta oka. Rad je uključivao 60 žena starijih od 40 godina s kliničkom slikom blefarospazma podijeljenih u dvije skupine. Prvu skupinu činile su bolesnice s I. i II. stupnjem blefarospazma kod kojih su dominirali simptomi suhog oka, a drugu skupinu činile su bolesnice III. i IV. stupnja blefarospazma kod kojih je bila potrebna interventna terapija (sve bolesnice su bile liječene botulin toksinom tipa A). Za bojanje okularne površine radi otkrivanja kornealnih epitelnih defekata rabio se fluorescein. Bojanje kornealnih epitelnih defekata fluoresceinom bilo je statistički značajno manje u intervencijskoj skupini. Usporedba rezultata između promatranih skupina ukazala je na to da izraženi blefarospazam ima zaštitnu ulogu na površinu oka.The aim of the study was to determine the role of blepharospasm as a protective factor for the anterior segment of the eye by comparing the degree of blepharospasm and changes of the anterior segment structures. The study included sixty female patients older than forty years with the clinical diagnosis of blepharospasm. They were divided into two groups; the first group consisted of patients with stage I and II of blepharospasm with dominant dry eye symptoms, and the second group consisted of patients with stage III and IV of blepharospasm who required interventional therapy (all patients in this study were treated with botulinum toxin type A). Staining of ocular surface with vital dyes such as fluorescein was used to determine ocular surface defects. Fluorescein stains the corneal epithelial defects, which were statistically less pronounced in the interventional group. In conclusion, comparison of the results between the two groups of patients may implicate that advanced blepharospasm has a protective effect on ocular surface