Evaluation of Orbicularis Oculi Muscle in Unilateral Functional Epiphora Patients Using Electroneurography

To investigate orbicularis oculi muscle nerve conduction properties in individuals presenting with unilateral functional epiphora using electroneurography (ENoG), and to compare these findings with both ipsilateral orbicularis oris muscle data obtained from healthy controls.

This cross-sectional study enrolled 40 patients diagnosed with unilateral functional epiphora and 36 healthy volunteers as controls. For the patient group, the symptomatic hemiface was designated as Group 1, while the asymptomatic contralateral hemiface constituted Group 2. The healthy participants comprised Group 3. All participants underwent a comprehensive ophthalmologic evaluation, which included a lacrimal irrigation test. Electroneurography was employed using the Teca Natus neurology device (Ireland) to acquire and subsequently compare nerve conduction data from both the orbicularis oculi and orbicularis oris muscles across all participants.

The nerve conduction latency of the orbicularis oculi muscle, as measured through ENoG, was significantly longer in the eyes of Group 1 compared with Groups 2 and 3 ( P =0.011 and 0.002, respectively). However, the amplitude data for the orbicularis oculi muscle did not indicate any significant differences among the groups ( P >0.05 for all). Similarly, no significant differences were observed in the amplitude and latency data of the orbicularis oris muscle across the groups ( P >0.05 for all). An inter-group comparison revealed that only in Group 1 did the orbicularis oculi muscle exhibit a significantly prolonged latency relative to the orbicularis oris muscle ( P =0.018).

These data suggest that, while no general facial nerve pathology was observed in individuals with functional epiphora, differences in nerve conduction may exist between nerve branches. This finding may contribute to elucidating the complex pathophysiology of functional epiphora.