[Study of auditive evoked potentials in multiple sclerosis (author's transl)]. / Etude des potentiels évoqués auditifs au cours de la sclérose en plaques.

ABSTRACT

The Brain stem evoked response audiometry have been studied in 34 cases of multiple sclerosis. The Brainstem in 8 cases were normal and abnormal on one or both sides in the remaining 26 cases (73.5 p. 100). A Brainstem is considered suspicious of multiple sclerosis when the first wave (N1) is normal as far as the time period is concerned, although there is a loss of synchronisation of the recording particularly as far as the higher part of the brain stem (N4 and N5). In 24 cases of multiple sclerosis of definite diagnosis (according to Mac Alpine criteria) 19 cases had abnormal recordings (79.2 p. 100). In 31 cases that had a neurological test showing a lesion of the brain stem, 23 cases of evoked potentials were abnormal (74.2 p. 100). In 3 cases that clinicaly had no lesion of the brain stem, the evoked potentials were abnormal in 2 of them, suggesting the eventuality of a lesion clinicaly non-reactive which can then be of help to confirm the diagnosis.