[Assessment of blink reflex in hemiparetic patients after stroke]

Blink reflex (BR) was evaluated in a group of 50 hemiparetic patients after stroke with lesions localized in cerebral hemispheres and in a group of 12 healthy controls. The response was examined and compared, after stimulation of the supraorbital nerve, on both paretic and "healthy" side in affected patients. Abnormalities of BR were observed in late response only. The damage of one hemisphere affects the BR bilaterally. We found prolongation of latency and decrease of amplitude of late responses bilaterally when stimulating the supraorbital nerve of the paretic side. On the contrary, stimulation of the "healthy" side evoked similar abnormalities mainly contralaterally.