Blink reflexes and lateral spreading in patients with synkinesia after Bell's palsy and in hemifacial spasm.

We compared various electrodiagnostical tests in patients with hemifacial spasm and in patients who developed synkinesia after Bell's palsy. We examined the evoked blink reflexes in the orbicularis oculi (o. oculi) and orbicularis oris (o. oris) muscles in 23 patients with hemifacial spasm (HFS), in 10 patients with synkinesia after Bell's palsy (BPS) and in 22 control subjects. In the patient groups, we recorded synkinesia, latency and amplitude of compound muscle action potential (CMAP) in the mental muscle after stimulation of the facial nerve and we examined electromyographic activity of the o. oculi and mental muscles synchronously. Furthermore, we studied the phenomenon of lateral spreading, also known as ephaptic transmission, between the different facial nerve branches. Patients with BPS had a prolonged R1 latency on the affected side in o. oculi and smaller mental CMAP amplitude as an indication of facial nerve damage and nerve fiber loss. This was not found in patients with HFS, who showed an increased amplitude of the R1 and R2 responses in o. oris. Patients with BPS showed only an increased R1 amplitude in o. oris. All patients had signs of synkinesia. Lateral spreading with different patterns was present in all patients with HFS and in half of the patients with BPS. Latencies of early and late responses showed no differences between HFS and BPS. In addition to alterations in facial nucleus excitability in both conditions, ectopic re-excitation of facial nerve axons in HFS may explain the differences in neurophysiological findings between HFS and BPS patients. A loss of control following synaptic stripping may also be a contributing factor. Copyright 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel