Features of Vegetative Dysfunction in Patients with Bell’s Palsy

Abstract

Introduction: Bell's palsy is characterised by an acute, unilateral, partial, or complete paralysis of the face. Bell's palsy occurs in a lower motor neurone pattern. The weakness may be partial or complete, and may be associated with mild pain, numbness, increased sensitivity to sound, and altered taste. Bell's palsy is idiopathic, but a proportion of cases may be caused by reactivation of herpes virus at the geniculate ganglion of the facial nerve. Bell's palsy is most common in people aged 15 to 40 years, with a 1 in 60-lifetime risk. We aimed to evaluate vegetative dysfunctions in patients with Bell’s palsy, depending on the clinical course and sexual dimorphism. Methods: The study was carried out over 60 patients divided into three groups for the period 2011-2016. Each group includes 10 patients, according to the severity of lesion of FN, with the control group, consisted of healthy individuals of different age groups. Results: A detailed analysis of each clinical case suggests that more severe manifestation of BP and the older patients’ age, the higher the sympathetic tone. Cardiac contractions in the Danini-Ashner test did not practically change from the initial value, and on average, it was -2.0 ± 0.27 in males and -3.0 ± 0.3 in females. Conclusion: Prevalence of sympathetic activity in both patients with VT, in the VMA, and in the directionality of BP, especially among males, with a more severe FN. There is a correlation between severity of vegetative dysfunctions and neurological defect: more severe the lesion of FN, more shifts in the sympathetic orientation of vegetative functions were detected.