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Atrophy of the muscles of the face

Causes and symptoms of atrophy of the facial muscles

Atrophy of facial muscles is a rare disease that occurs mostly in women and often in adolescence or childhood. Causes and disease development is still poorly understood, but it is believed that this is one form of scleroderma, which developed as a result of traumatic or infectious lesions of the trigeminal nerve or autonomic nervous system, dysfunction of the endocrine glands.

Causes of atrophy of the facial muscles

The disease is manifested by gradual development and progression of atrophy of the subcutaneous fat, muscle tissue and skeletal bones mainly on one side of the face. Bilateral atrophy is very rare.

It should be noted that in most cases, progressive atrophy of facial muscles is a syndrome of different diseases associated with disorders of the autonomic nervous system. It can be assumed that injuries and illnesses are only the impetus for the development of neuro-degenerative changes.

Progressive atrophy of the facial muscles is characteristic of the gradual, slow development of the asymmetry, strongly enough it becomes noticeable discrepancy between the right and left halves, gradually increasing the ratio of the volume of the facial Department of the skull and soft tissues. Often suffer the left half of the face. Pathological changes are not only soft tissues but also the bones of the facial skeleton to the affected side. Subcutaneous fat becomes thinner to the thickness of parchment paper, the skin while smiling going in many folds, there is a depigmentation of the skin of face from grey to brown, broken sebaceous glands, can fall eyebrows and eyelashes, developing carious syndrome. After that affects the muscle tissue, especially of the masticatory and temporal bone. The retraction of the infraorbital region, often seen with atrophy of the maxilla.

The disease usually begins with one half of the face and as development proceeds in the surrounding tissue, sometimes on the other half on the muscles of the neck and trunk.

The symptoms of atrophy of the facial muscles

At the initial stage of development of the atrophy of the facial muscles, when there is no obvious clinical manifestations, affected side sometimes adopt healthy, considering itswollen. A so-called myopathic face with a characteristic specific look: smooth forehead, not fully closed the eye slit and thick slow-moving lips. The patient is very difficult to close the lips into a tube, whistle, blow out a candle. If a person smiles, the corners of his mouth in different directions.

Pain syndrome for progressive forms of the disease are uncommon. Sometimes a person can feel tingling in the affected parts of the cheeks or face. Rarely observed watery eyes in the cold and wind. A very significant difference in color of the cheeks, especially in the cold – it seems that one side of the face belongs to a man, emaciated from severe illness, and the other is quite healthy. The skin on the affected side is yellowish-gray or brown color and it does not appear glow. The result of a retraction of the lower eyelid of the eye widens the gap. When pressure is applied in the eye area and chin area there is pain. The chin is moved towards the patient side of the face.

Most often the sensitivity of the muscles of the face stored, but are sometimes marked characteristic paresthesias and neurological pain along the facial branches of the trigeminal nerve. The function of muscles, despite their thinning, not broken. In view of the complications of the disease may develop paralysis of the facial, lingual, ocular muscles and muscles of the soft palate.

Atrophy of the muscular tissue of the face may spontaneously cease, reaching a certain degree of development, sometimes even very heavy. The process stops and never progresses. At this stage you can apply plastic surgery.

Diagnosis and treatment of atrophy of the facial muscles

The diagnosis is based on clinical picture and medical history of the disease. Is differential diagnosis with congenital disorders of the face structure. In all forms of progressive atrophy of the facial muscles was noted variously expressed disturbances of functions of vegetative nervous system. To stop or cure the disease different medication drugs, physiotherapy methods, surgical intervention is practically impossible, they do not have the desired effect. Sometimes is the plastic available eye Zapadni transplantation of subcutaneous fat taken from the thigh. Is a General tonic and stimulant therapy is assigned to the vitamin complex. Restoration of the anatomical shape of the person is carried out only after stabilization of the process.