Electroneuromyographic analysis of acute neuropathy of the facial nerve in the aspect of sexual dimorphism

Abstract

Neuropathy of the facial nerve is the most common neuropathy of the cranial nerves, while the proportion of idiopathic lesions (Bell's palsy) accounts for about 50–70% of cases (1, 2, 3). The relevance of studying this disease is caused not so much by its prevalence (20-30 per 100 thousand population), but by the appearance in one third of patients with postneuropathic contracture of mimic muscles with the development of synkinesis and dyskinesias, which manifests itself as a gross defect of facial expression, causes physical and psychological discomfort and can significantly reduce quality of life (1, 2, 4, 5).

Electroneuromyography (ENMG) is the most objective method for assessing the functional state of peripheral nerves (3, 6, 7). ENMG is widely used not only to confirm the clinical diagnosis with the establishment of the level and type of damage to the peripheral nervous system, but also to predict the course of the disease, determine indications and contraindications to certain types of treatment, evaluate the effectiveness of therapy. Many neurophysiological laboratories in the world are engaged in the development of informative indicators of ENMG in facial nerve neuropathy, but their recommendations are very contradictory (8, 12).