Sensory Trick Frames: A New Device for Blepharospasm Patients

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the use of unique customized spectacles provided with modified side arms may be helpful in reducing benign essential blepharospasm (BEB) in patients describing periocular sensory tricks (ST). METHODS: A prospective descriptive study of patients with BEB with positive periocular or temporal region ST phenomenon response under the care of the Botox Clinic at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK. Nine consecutive patients with BEB describing ST were recruited, and the disease frequency and severity were assessed with the Jankovic Rating Scale (JRS) and the Blepharospasm Disability Index (BSDI) before and after the use of the sensory trick frames (STF). RESULTS: A reduction in the score was noted in both severity (p = 0.0115) and frequency patterns (p = 0.0117) in the JRS in patients using the STF. A significant reduction of the BSDI score was also observed (p = 0.0314). CONCLUSION: All the patients selected and fitted with the STF had a reduction in spasms and related symptoms. This new device may be helpful in some selected BEB patients who previously responded positively to periocular pressure alleviating maneuvers.