[Electrophysiological study of congenital facial paralysis]

The common cause of neonatal facial asymmetry is facial nerve paralysis or "asymmetric crying facies syndrome". In the not uncommon later the lower lip, symmetrical at rest, becomes tilted to the so-called normal side when the patient is smiling or crying, as the congenital hypogenesis of sublabial muscles fail to pull down the lower lip in the opposite side. The electrophysiological differentiation between the two diseases has been performed by orbicularis oculi and oris reflexes with mechanically glabellar and supralabial tapping stimulation, respectively, in addition to needle and/or surface EMG recording. In the facial nerve paralysis of the case 1, R1 and R2 were absent in the orbicularis oculi and oris reflexes. EMG activity was completely lacking over the M. orbicularis oculi and oris innervated by facial nerve. On the contrary, the orbicularis oculi and oris reflexes were normal in the asymmetric crying facial of the case 2. EMG activity was absent only in the sublabial muscles including M. depressor anguli oris and/or M. depressor labii inferioris. Furthermore, needle EMG disclosed no spontaneous activity at rest, which was suggestive of no denervation in the sublabial muscles. It was, however, not possible to determine exactly which muscle the needle was inserted, the M. deprossor anguli oris or the M. depressor labii inferioris. The case 3 might be a variant of asymmetric crying facies with hypogenesis of M. orbicularis oris and/or oculi as well as the sublabial muscle, since the latency was normal but the amplitude was significantly attenuated in the components of orbicularis oculi and oris reflexes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)