Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
1996-8-16
pubmed:abstractText
In patients with hemifacial spasm (HFS), the spasm is due to cross-compression of the facial nerve by a blood vessel. There are currently two hypotheses for the mechanism of HFS: 1) the spasm is caused by ephaptic transmission and an increase in excitability at the site of compression; and 2) the spasm is caused by hyperexcitability in the facial nerve nucleus. In peripheral nerves, F-waves, which result from the backfiring of antidromically activated anterior horn cells, have been proposed as indices of proximal motoneuron conduction and anterior horn cell excitability. Enhancement of the F-waves indicates increased anterior horn cell excitability. We have therefore measured F-waves in the facial muscle of HFS patients in order to investigate the excitability of the facial nerve nucleus. The authors obtained facial nerve evoked responses from 20 HFS patients before microvascular decompression (MVD), 10 HFS patients after MVD and 10 healthy controls. The F-waves, obtained with surface electrodes from the mentalis muscle, were the second response after the M-wave. On the patient's spasm side, the F-wave duration, F/M amplitude ratio and frequency of F-wave appearance significantly increased compared with those of the normal side or healthy controls; minimum latency and chronodispersion did not significantly differ between these groups. In patients whose spasm disappeared completely following MVD, the abnormal muscle response (lateral spread), which is a characteristic sign of HFS, and the enhancement of the F-wave eventually also disappeared. Because of the correlation between HFS and F-waves, the authors' study supports the hypothesis that the cause of HFS is hyperexcitability of the facial motonucleus.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
0001-6268
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
138
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
24-32
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-11-11
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Adult, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Aged, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Anterior Horn Cells, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Electromyography, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Facial Muscles, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Facial Nerve, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Facial Nerve Diseases, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Facial Paralysis, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Female, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Functional Laterality, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Male, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Microsurgery, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Middle Aged, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Motor Neurons, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Nerve Compression Syndromes, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Postoperative Complications, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Reaction Time, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Reference Values, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Spasm, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Synaptic Transmission, pubmed-meshheading:8686521-Treatment Outcome
pubmed:year
1996
pubmed:articleTitle
Electrophysiological investigation of hemifacial spasm: F-waves of the facial muscles.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article