“Make Your Mark Campaign Debuts
Raising Awareness For A Rare and Potentially Disfiguring Disease That Affects More Women Than Men
A new campaign called Make Your Mark is being launched to celebrate the achievements and stories of people living with cervical dystonia and blepharospasm, which are potentially disfiguring, debilitating and sometimes painful conditions caused by abnormal muscle contractions.
Cervical dystonia (CD) and blepharospasm are focal dystonias which means they affect one part of the body. Dystonias are neurological movement disorders in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. Specifically:
CD causes continuous contractions of the neck muscles which force the head to tilt left, right, forward or backward, and prevents the head from staying in a normal upright position.
Blepharospasm affects the muscles that the eye uses to blink. The involuntary contractions can vary from excessive blinking to eyelid spasms that close the eyes for most of the day.
A new survey conducted by Harris Interactive found that more than 50% of CD and blepharospasm patients experienced symptoms for one year or more before their conditions were diagnosed. In fact, two-thirds of patients surveyed said they were not diagnosed sooner because there is a lack of knowledge about these conditions or they were misdiagnosed.* Dystonia (which includes CD and blepharospasm) is estimated to affect 300,000 people in the U.S. alone.
Two outstanding and accomplished women are among the patient advocates leading the Make Your Mark education campaign.
This media tour is sponsored by the Make Your Mark Campaign supported by Merz Pharmaceuticals, www.makeyourmarkcampaign.com
*Merz Dystonia Survey, Cervical Dystonia and Blepharospasm, Harris Interactive, March 2011.
