Electrophysiological studies of a child with presumed botulism

Electrophysiological studies of a child with presumed botulism showed that the amplitude of the serially and electrically elicited blink reflexes Rl, R2 and R2' was reduced during recovery. These findings suggest a conduction block of the facial nerves. Other nerve conduction studies and an inc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child's nervous system 2000-02, Vol.16 (2), p.84-86
Main Authors: HATANAKA, T, OWA, K, YASUNAGA, M, KAMEZAKI, S, SUEHIRO, Y, YASUHARA, A, SHINOMIYA, K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial diseases of the nervous system. Bacterial myositis
Biological and medical sciences
Blinking - physiology
Botulism - diagnosis
Botulism - physiopathology
Child
Diagnosis, Differential
Electric Stimulation
Evoked Potentials, Motor - physiology
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Male
Medical sciences
Neurologic Examination
Peripheral Nerves - physiopathology
Reflex, Pupillary - physiology
Synaptic Transmission - physiology
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Summary:Electrophysiological studies of a child with presumed botulism showed that the amplitude of the serially and electrically elicited blink reflexes Rl, R2 and R2' was reduced during recovery. These findings suggest a conduction block of the facial nerves. Other nerve conduction studies and an incremental response to repetitive stimulation demonstrated a block of the presynaptic neuromuscular transmission. Results of the biological tests were negative, but those of electrodiagnosis and clinical examination favored a diagnosis of botulism. A combination of electrically elicited blink reflexes and rapid repetitive stimulation of the peripheral nerves was found to be a sensitive method of assessing the integrity of neuromuscular junctions and the subclinical impairment of muscle nerves.
ISSN:0256-7040
1433-0350
DOI:10.1007/s003810050017