Prognostic factors of Bell's palsy and Ramsay Hunt syndrome

The aim of this study was to compare clinical characteristics, electroneurography (ENoG) results, and functional outcomes of patients with Bell's palsy (BP) and Ramsay Hunt syndrome (RHS).Around 57 patients with BP and 23 patients with RHS were enrolled in this study from January 2010 and September 2015. Both clinical characteristics and ENoG results were recorded at hospital admission. The evaluations of functional outcomes were conducted with House-Brackmann (H-B) grading system at 6-month follow-up.There were no significant differences in age, gender proportion, initial H-B grades, time before commencement of treatment and the presence of comorbid disease in 2 groups. However, the final H-B grades at 6-month follow-up were significantly better in BP patients than RHS patients. The results of ENoG showed that degeneration index (DI) was significantly higher in the RHS group than the BP group. But no significant difference was found in the value of prolonged latency time (PLT) between the 2 groups. In multivariate analysis, age and ENoG DI were independently associated with functional outcome of recovery in the BP group (OR 0.167, 95% CI 0.038-0.622, P = 0.009 and OR 0.289 95% CI 0.107-0.998, P = 0.050, respectively). However, in the RHS group, only ENoG DI was related to the final H-B grades (OR 0.067, 95% CI 0.005-0.882, P = 0.040). Spearman's rank correlation analysis showed that higher age and ENoG DI were related to poorer prognosis in 2 groups (P < 0.05). PLT was related to functional outcomes only in the BP group (rs = 0.460, P < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) of ENoG DI analysis revealed that the cutoff value was 67.0% for BP prognosis and 64.5% for RHS prognosis. What's more, patients with hypertension or diabetes mellitus had both higher final H-B grade and ENoG DI than those without the same comorbidity.Patients with RHS had poorer prognosis than those with BP. Some factors including age, ENoG DI, and the presence of disease influenced recovery from BP and RHS. The present study demonstrated that BP patients with ENoG DI < 67.0% and RHS patients with ENoG DI < 65.5% had a greater opportunity for recovery within half a year.

Symptomatic myoclonus

A huge number of neurological disorders are associated with myoclonus. This paper describes these disorders whose diagnosis partly relies on the presence of myoclonus. The diagnostic approach is related to certain clinical features of myoclonus, which, after their integration in the clinical context, help orientate towards diagnosis. Myoclonus is frequent during dementia. Although its presence is well-known to take part in the diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), myoclonus can also be present to a significant degree in Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia (LBD), which raises a diagnostic issue. Both its clinical and electrophysiological features may help differential diagnosis, given that myoclonus with fast-evolving dementia and focal neurological signs should favor the diagnosis of CJD. Myoclonus in a context of progressive ataxia suggests one clinical form of the Ramsay-Hunt syndrome (progressive myoclonic ataxia, PMA), whose most frequent causes are: coeliac disease, mitochondriopathies, some spino-cerebellar degenerations, and some late metabolic disorders. In addition to ataxia and myoclonus, the presence of opsoclonus directs diagnosis toward the opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome (OMS), whose origin, in adult, is idiopathic or paraneoplastic. Palatal tremor (myoclonus) with ataxia may represent either a sporadic pattern, which often reflects the evolution of degenerative or lesional disorders, or a familial pattern in some degenerative affections or metabolic diseases. Of more recent knowledge is the association of progressive ataxia, myoclonus, and renal failure, which corresponds to a recessive autosomic disease. In a context of encephalopathy, myoclonus is frequent in metabolic or hydro-electrolytic disorders, and in brain anoxia. One should distinguish these various forms of myoclonus which may occur in the acute post-anoxic phase, from those occurring as sequels at a later stage, i.e. the Lance and Adams syndrome whose clinical aspects are also multiple. Myoclonus is less frequent during toxic or drug exposures. Irrespective of its acute or insidious onset, Hashimoto's encephalopathy is accompanied by myoclonus and tremor. Myoclonus may also be present during encephalic and/or spinal infectious disorders. Myoclonus with focal neurological signs may be observed in thalamic lesions, responsible for unilateral asterixis or unilateral myoclonus superimposed on dystonic posture. Segmental spinal myoclonus or propriospinal myoclonus may be associated with several spinal-cord disorders. Myoclonus associated with peripheral nerve lesions is exceptional or even questionable for some of these.

Late-onset Tacrolimus-associated Cerebellar Atrophia in a Heart Transplant Recipient

Tacrolimus is a macrolide immunosuppressant frequently used after solid-organ transplantation. Moderate and severe neurologic side effects have been reported in patients receiving tacrolimus. Cerebral neurotoxicity is a rare but fatal calcineurin inhibitor-related complication, especially in kidney and liver transplant recipients. Often a reduction or a change in immunosuppressive regimen is the only means of clinical management. Herein we report a case of a 31-year-old man who developed cerebellar atrophia while under immunosuppressive therapy 9 years after heart transplantation. His neurologic constitution ameliorated after an immunosuppressant switch from tacrolimus to sirolimus.

Relative frequencies of CAG expansions in spinocerebellar ataxia and dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy in 116 Italian families

Two hundred and forty-eight patients from 116 Italian families with dominant ataxia were studied for CAG expansion within SCA1, 2, 3, 6, 7 (spinocerebellar ataxia) and DRPLA (dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy) genes. Fifty-six percent of the families originated from Southern, 19% from Central and 25% from Northern Italy. SCA2 was the commonest mutation, accounting for 47% of the families, followed by SCA1 (24%), SCA6 (2%), SCA7 (2%) and DRPLA (1%). No SCA3 family was found. Twenty-four percent of the families carried a still unidentified mutation. When occurrence of mutations was evaluated according to the geographic origin, SCA1 was the commonest in Northern (72%), whereas SCA2 was prevalent (63%) in Southern Italy. The number of CAG repeats in SCA1 normal alleles was higher in Northern than in Central-Southern Italy.

[Quantitative analyses for facial nerve MR imaging]

It is clear, from our clinical experience, that the facial nerve in patients with facial palsy is enhanced on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging after intravenous administration of gadolinium diethylenetriamine. However, some problems with clinical reliability persist. There have been reports that normal facial nerves often show enhancement on MR imaging. We also question whether there are any differences in the degree of enhancement between Bell's palsy and Ramsay Hunt syndrome. To solve these problems, analyses were conducted using a personal computer by means of digital image-processing to measure the gray scale levels of enhanced facial nerves on MR imaging films. Seventeen cases of Bell's palsy, eight cases of Ramsay Hunt syndrome and fourteen normal subjects whose facial nerves showed enhancement on MR imaging were selected for the analyses. The concept of a facial nerve/whole image ratio (F/W ratio), analyzing the degree of enhancement of the facial nerve quantitatively, is introduced in this paper. The F/W ratio is the ratio of the gray scale level of the facial nerve region to the highest gray scale level in the skull at the MR imaging film. When the F/W ratios of these subjects were analyzed, no significant differences were found between Bell's Palsy and Ramsay Hunt syndrome in the degree of enhancement; facial palsy cases showed quantitatively larger F/W ratios than normal subjects.

Ramsay Hunt syndrome: progressive mental deterioration in association with unusual cerebral white matter change

An autopsied case of Ramsay Hunt syndrome with progressive dementia was reported. The clinical symptoms included progressive intellectual decline, myoclonus, generalized convulsive seizure, cerebellar ataxia and positive pyramidal signs. Neuropathological examination disclosed cerebral white matter demyelination marked in the frontal lobe and fibrillary gliosis predominantly in the subcortical U-fibers, grumose degeneration in the dentate nucleus and inferior olivary nucleus lesion. The skeletal muscle showed no ragged-red fiber. The present case can be included in Ramsay Hunt syndrome because of the absence of pathological hallmark of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy and of the presence of the degenerative lesions in the olivary and dentate nucleus without cerebellar Purkinje cell loss. The intellectual decline is a result of extensive frontal white matter change, and myoclonus and ataxia are closely associated with dentate grumose degeneration. The cerebral white matter change is an unusual finding and the present case might be a variant in Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

Progressive myoclonic ataxia without ragged red fibres: Unverricht-Lundborg disease vs Ramsay Hunt syndrome

We describe eight patients from three families presenting with myoclonus, ataxia, infrequent seizures and minimal intellectual impairment. All were Arabs from different parts of the Arabian peninsula. The new consensus on terminology, genetic and clinical definition of Baltic myoclonus, Ramsay Hunt syndrome and Unverricht-Lundborg disease suggests that our group are best categorised under the term of progressive myoclonic ataxia of the Unverricht-Lundborg type. Moreover, this report reinforces the existence of this syndrome outside Scandinavia.

Progressive myoclonus epilepsies. Criteria for diagnosis on the basis of the follow-up of 37 cases

The authors report the clinical criteria for the diagnosis of progressive myoclonus epilepsies on the basis of their experience following 34 cases (2 with sialidosis, 2 with MERRF, 4 with Lafora disease, 24 with Unverricht-Lundborg type, 4 with ataxic myoclonus). 3 rare forms of PME are also reported: a case of lipoma and PME, a family with dentato-rubro-pallido-luysian atrophy and a family of myoclonus epilepsy, Hartung type. The autonomy of Ramsay Hunt syndrome is discussed on the light of recent molecular genetic data.

Early onset hereditary ataxias of unknown etiology. Review of a personal series

Among 300 patients affected by hereditary ataxia, 94 received the diagnosis of Friedreich's disease, 12 of Late Onset Friedreich's disease, 27 of Early Onset Cerebellar Ataxia with retained tendon reflexes, 10 of Progressive Myoclonic Ataxia, 4 of Ataxia with hypogonadism and 2 of Ataxia with hearing loss. Only Friedreich's disease appears clinically homogeneous, whereas the others are not specific entities and each of them probably includes different diseases.

Pathophysiology of cerebellar ataxia

Human and animal experiments performed recently have resulted in a more detailed understanding of limb movement and body posture disorders associated with cerebellar dysfunction. The delay in movement initiation can be explained by a delay in onset of phasic motor cortex neural discharge owing to decreased input from the cerebellar hemispheres. Disorders of movement termination (dysmetria), which can occur for movements at proximal and distal joints, result from disturbances of the timing and intensity of antagonist electromyographic (EMG) activity necessary to break the movement. Disorders in velocity and acceleration of limb movements result from muscular activity that is smaller in amplitude and more prolonged. The cerebellum is important for control of constant force but not for generation of maximal force. Dysdiadochokinesia is explained by a combination of the above mentioned mechanisms. During complex movements in three-dimensional space, the cerebellum contributes to timing between single components of a movement, scales the size of muscular action, and coordinates the sequence of agonists and antagonists. The basic structure of motor programs is not generated in the cerebellum. Hypotonia can be observed only in acute cerebellar lesions. Cerebellar tremor appears to result from a central mechanism, but is modulated or provoked through increased long-loop EMG responses. The common assumption that cerebellar ataxia of stance does not improve with visual feedback is true only of vestibulocerebellar lesions, not for ataxia resulting from atrophy of the anterior lobe of the cerebellum.

Cerebellorubral degeneration after resection of cerebellar dentate nucleus neoplasms: evaluation with MR imaging

The authors describe the magnetic resonance (MR) findings in seven patients who developed severe cerebellar symptoms and atrophy of the contralateral red nucleus following removal of unilateral neoplasms in the deep nuclei of the cerebellum. For most patients, pre- and postoperative spin-echo MR images were obtained with long repetition times (TRs) at 1.5 T. The long TR images obtained before surgery demonstrated unilateral masses involving the dentate nucleus. Long TR images obtained after surgical resection of the dentate nucleus showed increased signal intensity in all of seven contralateral red nuclei, three of seven ipsilateral superior cerebellar peduncles, and two of seven contralateral inferior olivary nuclei. Three other patients who underwent surgery for cerebellar neoplasms without resection of the dentate nuclei showed no postoperative brain stem changes on MR images. The authors speculate that the changes in the contralateral red nuclei are due to cerebellorubral degeneration (since well-described neural tracts interconnect the dentate nucleus and the contralateral red nucleus). Injury of the dentate nucleus may result in degeneration of distant neural connections.

Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the facial nerve in herpes zoster oticus and Bell's palsy: clinical implications

Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging was used in the evaluation of the facial nerve in four patients with idiopathic facial paralysis and six with herpes zoster oticus (HZO). Enhancement of the facial nerve was seen in all patients with Bell's palsy, and 50 percent of patients with HZO. The most consistent area of enhancement in both disorders involved the premeatal and labyrinthine segments. Although the images showed changes consistent with the type of viral process that is known to occur in these disorders, we found no significant correlation between the intensity or pattern of facial nerve enhancement on the images, the severity or duration of the disease, or the patient's prognosis for recovery. Nevertheless, gadolinium-enhanced MRI does have a place in the evaluation and decisions for management of select cases of facial paralysis.

Progressive myoclonic ataxia (the Ramsay Hunt syndrome)

It has been suggested from studies of patients with progressive myoclonus epilepsy that the term Ramsay Hunt syndrome should be abandoned, as its use has led to nosologic confusion, and because, in the light of modern diagnostic techniques, the majority of cases can be allocated to specific disease categories, chiefly, Unverricht-Lundborg disease (Baltic myoclonus) and mitochondrial encephalomyopathy. Review of 30 cases of this syndrome, defined as progressive ataxia and myoclonus and infrequent seizures in the absence of dementia, showed that a clinical or biochemically supported diagnosis could not be made in 43%. This low diagnostic yield probably reflects differences in ascertainment of patients; those described here were referred with a syndrome of progressive myoclonic ataxia (the Ramsay Hunt syndrome) rather than progressive myoclonus epilepsy. These two syndromes share common causes, but a smaller proportion of patients with progressive myoclonic ataxia can currently be diagnosed precisely during life.

The Ramsay Hunt syndrome revisited: Mediterranean myoclonus versus mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with ragged-red fibers and Baltic myoclonus

Among progressive myoclonus epilepsies (PME), the nosography of the Ramsay Hunt syndrome (RHS) has been much debated. The authors report on a homogeneous group of 43 patients originating from around the western Mediterranean, with a large number of northern African subjects, who were followed up for a mean period of 11.6 years. Onset is between 6 and 17 years (mean: 11.2) and the transmission appears to be recessive. The clinical features include: action myoclonus, generalized epileptic seizures, mild cerebellar signs and lack of dementia. EEG features include normal background activity, spontaneous fast generalized spike-wave discharges, photosensitivity, lack of activation during nREM sleep and vertex/rolandic spikes during REM sleep. The prognosis is variable, even within families, but the progression seems to be slow in a majority of patients. This condition can be distinguished from mitochondrial encephalomyopathy and is less severe than Baltic myoclonus. The authors propose that this form of PME, formerly reported as RHS, be more properly described as Mediterranean myoclonus.

The rarity--an acceptable stimulant

Patients who present with uncommon or unusual or, occasionally, rare complaints help keep doctors vigilant. Such patients can stir the brain to action and prompt stimulating discussions with colleagues.

[Equilibrium disorders and ataxia as dominating symptoms in a case of Alzheimer's disease]

A case of a 66-year-old female woman with Alzheimer's disease (confirmed histologically) is reported. In the case cerebellar symptoms predominated without evidence of dementia. The patient died after duodenal haemorrhage.

Prognostic value of blink test in patients with facial paralysis

In order to gain an early estimate of a prognosis for facial paralysis, the vertical eye movements associated with eyeblinks (Bell's phenomenon) in 39 patients with acute unilateral Bell's paralysis and Hunt's syndrome and of 21 normal subjects were recorded by electronystagmography. These data were then analysed with a small digital computer (PDP 11/34). The results were compared with electroneurography (ENoG) and nerve excitability test (NET) results and can be summarized as follows: 1. Difference in velocity and amplitude between left and right eye movement during eyeblink (called blink index), diminished in inverse proportion to any improvement of lagophthalmos. 2. All the 5 patients showing more than 80% in maximum blink index (MBI) proved to have a poor prognosis, whereas 18 of 19 patients having a MBI of 40% or less proved to have a good prognosis. The blink test was deemed to be of equal clinical significance to ENoG and NET for predicting facial paralysis. 3. The blink test does not require needle electrodes for electrical stimulus, nor any special equipment other than electronystagmography, and yet this test can provide a quantitative analysis of a degeneration profile in facial paralysis.

[Myoclonic cerebellar dyssynergia (Ramsay Hunt). Description of 2 cases]

The authors report two cases of dyssynergia cerebellaris myoclonica in siblings. Apart from typical clinical manifestations attention is called to the results of computerized tomography of the brain which demonstrated cerebellar atrophy. This helped in verification of the diagnosis. Comparing these cases with other ones described earlier in the literature the authors conclude that dyssynergia cerebellaris myoclonica is not a separate nosological entity but a syndrome associated with myoclonia.

A neurologist's approach to a patient with hearing impairment

This article is a review of the central auditory pathways from an anatomic and clinical perspective. An approach to the assessment of patients with hearing impairment of central origin is provided. The review of the patient's history, physical examination, and laboratory assessment are dealt with in detail.

Some parameters affecting Békésy audiometric thresholds

Bekesy automatic audiometric findings may be affected by various factors such as contralateral masking, starting frequency, starting level, exposure to stimulating sound and different stages of some disease entity. These findings are seen mostly on steady-tone tracings as revealed by peak-to-peak amplitude reductions and threshold drifts. This paper is concerned with automatic audiometry parameters which have been little known or ignored by many investigators. Detailed audiometric case histories from 6 patients with a variety of unilateral sensorineural hearing impairments showed, e.g., that contralateral masking in the normal ear can produce striking effects on tracings to steady-state tones in the affected ear. Various starting frequencies produced marked effects on separation between pulsed-and steady-tone tracings if hearing was tested starting at suprathreshold levels. A patient diagnosed as having an early endolymphatic hydrops retested within 1 hr following an episodic attack displayed varieties of findings. The automatic audiometric method demonstrates the interrelation of level and adaptation.

Herpes zoster oticus: surgery based upon prognostic indicators and results

We studied 28 patients with herpes zoster oticus prospectively over the six-year period between August 1974 and June 1980. We found that the results of measuring tear production, submandibular salivary flow, the response to maximal stimulation, and evoked electromyography gave us sufficient information to group these patients according to prognosis--either unfavorable or favorable--for spontaneous return of facial function. When the test results were 26% or more of normal, 100% of the patients had complete recovery without treatment; when the test results were 25% or less of normal, 69% had incomplete recovery: 19% had fair and 50% had poor recovery. Of the 31% with complete recovery, 4 were operated upon. The natural history of herpes zoster oticus in patients with a poor prognosis was improved if a transmastoid extralabyrinthine subtemporal decompression of the labyrinthine segment of the facial nerve was performed within 10 days of onset of the paralysis. The decision to perform this surgery was based upon the results of the prognostic tests mentioned above.

Sleep abnormalities in four cases of dyssynergia cerebellaris myoclonica of Ramsay-Hunt

The nocturnal sleep of four patients with dyssynergia cerebellaris myoclonica (DCM) of Ramsay-Hunt was recorded with a polygraph. The following features were observed: a reduction of spindles, K complexes and vertex spikes; frequent arousals; rare rapid eye movements with a modification of their morphology and pattern; change in sleep stage percentages. In addition, myoclonus and polyspike-and-wave complexes appeared less frequently during sleep than during wakefulness. Three generalized convulsive and sixteen clonic seizures were recorded during stage 3/4 or on arousal. The clinical and physiopathological implications of these data are discussed.

Mitochondrial myopathy and lactic acidaemia with myoclonic epilepsy, ataxia and hypothalamic infertility: a variant of Ramsay-Hunt syndrome?

A case of mitochondrial myopathy and lactic acidaemia with myoclonic epilepsy, cerebellar ataxia and high-tone hearing loss is presented. There was no ptosis or ophthalmoplegia. Endocrine investigations showed a defect in hypothalamic function which was a likely cause of infertility. The case is compared with previously reported examples of mitochondrial myopathy with myoclonic epilepsy, and contrasted with the Kearns-Sayre syndrome. It is concluded that mitochondrial myopathy, myoclonic epilepsy and ataxia may be distinguishing features of a specific familial disease, which on presentation may mimic the Ramsay-Hung syndrome.

[Genetic, polyphysiographic, CT and therapeutic aspects (author's transl)]

Genetic, clinical, polyphysiographic and therapeutical aspects were investigated in a 37 year old patient suffering from: sporadic and localized segmentary myoclonia (present during rest and increasing slightly during movement), cerebellar syndrome, marked hypoacusia, hyper-reflexia of the lower limbs, spike and polyspike EEG discharges and massive myoclonia during photostimulation. A dominant autosomic inheritance of this syndrome was suggested by the occurrence of a more serious and rapid, yet similar, illness in the mother and by EEG alterations in an 8 year old son. The Authors suggest that, from the clinical point of view, they are dealing with an atypical Ramsay-Hunt syndrome (MCD) with signs of Pierre-Marie Heredoataxia. This supports the possibility, however rare, of intermediate forms between MCD and Heredoataxia. The patient underwent polyphysiographic investigations under the following conditions: i) without therapy; ii) with diphenylhydantoin; iii) with phenobarbital; iv) with sodium dipropyl-acetate; v) with clonazepam. The above investigations confirmed the previously described alterations, during wakefulness or sleep, observed in cases of Unverricht-Lundborg syndrome (PME) and Ramsay-Hunt syndrome (MCD). Clonazepam was found to be the most effective drug in attenuating myoclonia, in reducing the EEG spike activity and in reorganizing the phases and cycles of sleep.

[Progressive myoclonic epilepsy: anatomo - clinical study of a sporadic case with a marked cerebellar symptomatology (author's transl)]

A case of progressive myoclonic epilepsy (P.M.E.) is described. The clinical picture consisted of epileptic seizures, myoclonus and slight mental deterioration associated with a severe progressive cerebellar syndrome. The disease had a course of almost 20 years. Histological studies of the C.N.S. showed severe loss of Purkinje cells, sligth regressive changes in both dentate and olivary nuclei, nerve cells atrophy of anterior horn motoneurons, degeneration of Goll's and Burdach's spino-olivary and anterior spino-cerebellar tracts. Features of cellular lipidosis and/or neuronal amiloid inclusions were not seen. The case was therefore classified in the group of degenerative P.M.E. Its peculiar pathologic aspects consisted of slight but diffuse brain stem regressive changes associated with systemic degeneration involving the spino-cerebellar pathways. The clinical features of our patient emphasize the problem of differential diagnosis between. P.M.E. and D.C.M. thought of by French authors to be an autonomous entity both clinically )severe cerebellar syndrome, intentional myoclonus, absence or late appearance of epilepsy, slight or absent mental deterioration) and anatomically (primary atrophy of the dentate system). However there are many cases, similar to the one reported, which have a clinical course suggesting a diagnosis of D.C.M., but which differ neuropathologically from Hunt's syndrome because of the absence of primary atrophy of the dentate system. These borderline cases give supporting evidence to the concept of continuity between classical P.M.E. and D.C.M., as well as to the authors' opinion that 1unt's syndrome must be classified as a varient of degenerative P.M.E.