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Related Concept Videos

Vascular Spasm01:16

Vascular Spasm

The vascular phase, also known as vasospasm, is the initial stage of hemostasis, crucial for preventing excessive bleeding when a blood vessel is injured. After a vessel is cut, nerves in the damaged area trigger pain and other sensory impulses. Simultaneously, the smooth muscles in the vessel wall contract, resulting in a vascular spasm. This contraction reduces the vessel's diameter at the injury site, slowing or stopping blood loss through the vessel wall. Vascular spasms typically last for...
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Single-stage Dynamic Reanimation of the Smile in Irreversible Facial Paralysis by Free Functional Muscle Transfer
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Single-stage Dynamic Reanimation of the Smile in Irreversible Facial Paralysis by Free Functional Muscle Transfer

Published on: March 1, 2015

Hemifacial spasm.

Giovanni Abbruzzese1, Alfredo Berardelli, Giovanni Defazio

  • 1Department of Neurosciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy. giabbr@unige.it

Handbook of Clinical Neurology
|April 19, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a facial nerve disorder causing involuntary muscle contractions. Botulinum toxin (BoNT) injections are the preferred treatment for primary HFS, offering documented long-term efficacy and safety.

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Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Movement Disorders

Background:

  • Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a unilateral, sporadic movement disorder characterized by facial muscle contractions.
  • It stems from peripheral nerve issues, primarily vascular compression of the seventh cranial nerve, leading to demyelination and ephaptic transmission.
  • Secondary HFS can result from facial nerve or brainstem damage, potentially presenting with simultaneous upper and lower facial muscle involvement.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the pathophysiology and treatment of Hemifacial Spasm (HFS).
  • To evaluate the efficacy of Botulinum toxin (BoNT) as a treatment for primary HFS.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of HFS pathophysiology and treatment options.
  • Analysis of clinical studies documenting the efficacy and safety of Botulinum toxin (BoNT) for HFS.

Main Results:

  • The "nerve origin hypothesis," involving ephaptic transmission due to demyelination at the facial nerve root entry zone, is the likely cause of HFS.
  • Medical treatments like anticonvulsants and GABAergic drugs show limited effectiveness.
  • Microvascular decompression offers improvement but carries risks of recurrence and complications.

Conclusions:

  • Botulinum toxin (BoNT) injections are the preferred symptomatic treatment for primary Hemifacial Spasm (HFS).
  • Long-term clinical studies confirm the efficacy and safety of BoNT for managing HFS.