Horner's syndrome
Horner's syndrome in medicine is a clinical syndrome characterized by a violation of the innervation of the human sympathetic nervous system. This disease is manifested, first of all, by a lesion of the oculomotor nerve, which ensures the expansion and contraction of the pupils, and also allows the eye to open and close. That is why this pathology leads to a change in one of the pupils and to the drooping of the eyelid. In most cases, Horner's syndrome occurs due to certain diseases, acting as an additional symptom of any disease.
Causes of Horner's syndrome
There are two types of Horner's syndrome: primary and secondary. The primary, or idiopathic, type is an independent pathology that is not a consequence of any disease. All clinical signs in this case regress by themselves. The secondary species is the result of a specific disease. Thus, a number of common causes of Horner's syndrome can be identified:
- Tumors of the spinal cord and brain;
- A tumor in the upper part of the lungs (called Pancost's tumor);
- Various injuries of the brain and spinal cord;
- Inflammatory diseases of the first ribs;
- Inflammatory processes of the upper spine;
- Inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system;
- Inflammation of the middle ear;
- Cerebral hemorrhage (stroke);
- Trigeminal neuralgia;
- Migraine;
- Multiple sclerosis;
- Aortic aneurysm;
- Myasthenia gravis;
- Hyperplasia of the thyroid gland with goiter;
- Various intoxication (for example, alcoholic).
Medicine knows some cases when the cause of Horner's syndrome was surgical intervention, after which this pathology developed. Very rarely, it can also be inherited.
In children, this disease is rare: only 1.42 cases per 100,000 babies. However, it should be noted that Horner's syndrome in newborns is not always a congenital pathology. In almost half of the cases, it is the result of surgical intervention. The most common causes in such situations are fetal rotation, difficulty in giving birth to the shoulder, delayed labor, and the use of forceps during obstetrics. The last factor (the imposition of forceps) in some cases provokes the occurrence of Horner's syndrome in newborns due to the dissection of the child's internal carotid artery.
Horner's syndrome symptoms
The symptoms of Horner's syndrome are quite specific, so it is easy to determine the presence of this pathology in a person by them. It is not necessary that all signs are present, however, the presence of at least two of them already speaks of this disease. Consider the main symptoms of the syndrome:
- Miosis;
- Ptosis;
- Inverted ptosis
- Enophthalm;
- Heterochromia;
- Anhidrosis.
Miosis in medicine is called the constriction of the pupils, and ptosis is the drooping of the upper eyelid, which provokes a narrowing of the opening of the eye. Also, patients may have a raised lower eyelid or inverted ptosis.
Enophthalmos is a retraction of the eyeball, which is a common symptom of pathology. Horner's syndrome in newborns can often manifest itself through heterochromia - a different color of the iris of the eyes. Its uneven coloration is also often observed in patients.
Anhidrosis in this disease is a symptom that partially interferes with normal sweating on the affected side of the face. In addition, the process of production of tear fluid is disrupted.
In Horner's syndrome, vasodilation in the eyeball and a violation of the pupil's response to light are also often observed. In a healthy person, under strong light, the pupil narrows, and in the dark, on the contrary, it expands, while in patients with this pathology, this process is significantly slowed down.
How to treat Horner's syndrome
In order to know how to treat Horner's syndrome, you must initially make sure of the diagnosis and determine the severity of the disease. To date, there are several basic tests with the help of which the presence of this pathology in humans is established:
- Ophthalmoscope test for delayed pupil dilation
- Paredrinom test, which helps determine the cause of miosis;
- Test with cocaine eye drops: when instilled in healthy people, the reuptake of norepinephrine is blocked, which contributes to the dilation of the pupil. In the presence of Horner's syndrome, there is a lack of norepinephrine, and therefore no expansion occurs.
- Test with instillation of an M-anticholinergic solution into both eyes, which detects the syndrome according to the same principle as the previous test.
It should be noted that the idiopathic form of the syndrome, as noted above, can go away on its own, therefore, does not require special treatment. The acquired clinical syndrome, which is the result of a disease, on the contrary, requires careful diagnosis and subsequent therapeutic therapy. Indeed, despite the fact that pathology in itself does not pose a serious danger to human health, the cause of its development cannot be ignored.
Therefore, in order to know how to treat Horner's syndrome, it is necessary to establish the disease that provoked it and begin to eliminate its consequences. At the same time, two main methods are used to treat pathology: plastic surgery and neurostimulation. The first method is aimed at plastic correction of pronounced cosmetic imperfections accompanying the disease. If you turn to professional surgeons, it is quite possible to restore the correct shape of the palpebral fissure and eyelids.
Neurostimulation, on the other hand, involves the impact on the affected nerve and muscles with current impulses, which are sent by special electrodes applied to the skin. Such a procedure is able to restore and prepare even very weak muscles for future regular exercise. It should be noted: despite the fact that neurostimulation is quite painful, it is the most effective remedy for Horner's syndrome, since it improves blood circulation and metabolism, restoring the necessary muscle tone.
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The information is generalized and provided for informational purposes only. At the first sign of illness, see your doctor. Self-medication is hazardous to health!
