Multiple Sclerosis

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
1352458508090668v1
14/7/927    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Koutsis, G
Right arrow Articles by Karandreas, N
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Koutsis, G
Right arrow Articles by Karandreas, N
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
First published on June 23, 2008, doi:10.1177/1352458508090668

Multiple Sclerosis 2008;14:927.

A more recent version of this article appeared on August 1, 2008

Article

Spastic paretic hemifacial contracture in multiple sclerosis: a neglected clinical and EMG entity

G Koutsis, P Kokotis, P Sarrigiannis, M Anagnostouli, C Sfagos, and N Karandreas

Department of Neurology, University of Athens, Aeginition Hospital, Athens, Greece

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.


  Abstract

Spastic paretic hemifacial contracture (SPHC) is an uncommon condition, originally described as a sign of brainstem neoplasia, characterized by sustained unilateral contraction of the facial muscles associated with mild ipsilateral facial paresis. SPHC has only rarely been reported in the context of multiple sclerosis (MS). To further study and assess the frequency of SPHC in patients with MS, we screened clinically 500 consecutive patients with MS for the presence of SPHC and further studied electrophysiologically any cases identified. We identified two patients who developed the condition during the course of an MS relapse. The estimated frequency of the condition was 0.4%. Both patients had relapsing–remitting MS. SPHC was characterized on EMG by continuous resting activity of irregularly firing motor unit potentials, associated with impaired recruitment of motor units on voluntary contraction. Myokymic discharges were not present. Blink reflex studies were partly consistent with midpontine lesions in the vicinity of the facial nucleus ipsilateral to SPHC. MRI showed lesions in the ipsilateral dorsolateral midpontine tegmentum. SPHC constitutes a rare but distinct clinical and EMG entity in patients with MS.

Key Words: facial myokymia, multiple sclerosis, spastic paretic hemifacial contracture


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?