Acute Unilateral Masseter Muscle Paralysis Caused by Pontine Infarction.

Abstract

In the present report, we discussed the case of a 57-year-old man with unilateral masticatory muscle weakness, nystagmus, skew deviation and facial hypesthesia due to pontine tegmental infarction. Trigeminal motor neuropathy attributed to brain infarction is very rare. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed a small dot-like infarction lesion in the pontine tegmentum. Masticatory muscle weakness was confirmed by an electrophysiological study performed on the day after admission in which there was an incomplete interference pattern without spontaneous denervation activity, suggesting that the patient's masseter muscle weakness was caused by an infarction of the trigeminal motor nucleus proper or trigeminal motor nerve fascicles rather than Wallerian degeneration of the trigeminal nerve or the progression of masseter muscle degeneration.

• Authors: Chonghwee Lee, Taewon Kim
• Journal: Journal of stroke and cerebrovascular diseases : the official journal of National Stroke Association (J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis) Vol. 30 Issue 4 Pg. 105623 (Apr 2021) ISSN: 1532-8511 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 33486342 (Publication Type: Case Reports)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Topics

• Acute Disease
• Brain Stem Infarctions (complications, diagnostic imaging, physiopathology)
• Facial Paralysis (diagnosis, etiology, physiopathology)
• Humans
• Male
• Masseter Muscle (innervation)
• Mastication
• Middle Aged
• Muscle Weakness (diagnosis, etiology, physiopathology)
• Trigeminal Motor Nucleus (blood supply)
• Trigeminal Nerve Diseases (diagnosis, etiology, physiopathology)