Abnormalities of the blink reflex in burning mouth syndrome

To our knowledge, this is the first report on pain-related abnormalities of the eye blink reflex (BR) in a clinical pain patient population. The objective of this study was to evaluate the possible neuropathic mechanisms underlying the burning mouth syndrome (BMS), by means of objective electrophysiological examination of the trigemino-facial system. We studied the BR with stimulation of the supraorbital nerve (SON) with particular emphasis on the occurrence of the pain-related ultralate R3 components, and the habituation response of the R2 components. The subjects consisted of eleven BMS patients and 10 healthy control subjects. All patients underwent thorough clinical oral and neurological examinations. The motor function of the trigeminal nerve was assessed with a jaw reflex recording, and a needle-EMG examination of the facial and masticatory muscles was performed in the patients with abnormalities in the BR recordings. The jaw reflexes, the latencies of the BR components, and the needle-EMG examinations were normal in all patients. As a group, the BMS patients had statistically significantly higher stimulus thresholds for the tactile R 1 components of the BR compared with the control subjects. With non-noxious stimulation, the BMS patients showed more frequently pain-related R3 components (11/22 SONs) compared with the controls (3/20 SONs). In addition, four BMS patients had abnormal habituation of the R2 components. In two of these patients, the findings were segmental (i.e., unilateral), coinciding with the side of the subjective BM symptoms. The abnormalities of the BR tests appeared to be related to longer disease duration. Our results suggest a possible pathologic involvement of the nervous system in chronic BMS.