Hemifacial spasm: an electrophysiological evidence of facial motorneurons hyperexcitability.
Article
in English
| IMSEAR
| ID: sea-43757
ABSTRACT
Twenty patients with primary hemifacial spasm and ten patients with Parkinson's disease were studied by means of paired stimuli blink reflex. The second stimuli were delivered at a varying time interval between 50-900 ms. The R2 response's absolute refractory periods were compared between patients and twenty one age-matched normal controls as well as between hemifacial spasm and Parkinson's disease. In normal subjects, the mean absolute refractory period was found to be 271.42 +/- 64.36 ms, in hemifacial spasm 160.00 +/- 50.62 ms and in Parkinson's disease 157.14 +/- 53.45 ms. The absolute refractory periods obtained from patients were significantly shorter than in normal controls (p < 0.05). However the values between patients with hemifacial spasm and Parkinson's disease were not (p > 0.05). This result strongly supports bilateral facial motoneurons hyperexcitability as the underlying mechanism of hemifacial spasm.
Full text:
Available
Index:
IMSEAR (South-East Asia)
Main subject:
Refractory Period, Electrophysiological
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Spasm
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Case-Control Studies
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Adult
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Facial Muscles
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Middle Aged
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Motor Neurons
Type of study:
Observational study
Language:
English
Year:
1994
Type:
Article
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