Comment in:

Ann Intern Med. 1996 Jan 1;124(1 Pt 1):63-5.

Ann Intern Med. 1996 Oct 15;125(8):698-9.

Bell palsy and herpes simplex virus: identification of viral DNA in endoneurial fluid and muscle.

Ehime University School of Medicine, Japan.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) causes Bell palsy. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: University inpatient service. PATIENTS: 14 patients with Bell palsy, 9 patients with the Ramsay-Hunt syndrome, and 12 other controls. MEASUREMENTS: Viral genomes of HSV-1, varicella-zoster virus, and Epstein-Barr virus were analyzed in clinical samples of facial nerve endoneurial fluid and posterior auricular muscle using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by hybridization with Southern blot analysis. RESULTS: Herpes simplex virus type 1 genomes were detected in 11 of 14 patients (79%) with Bell palsy but not in patients with the Ramsay-Hunt syndrome or in other controls. The nucleotide sequences of the PCR fragments were identical to those of the HSV-1 genome. CONCLUSIONS: Herpes simplex virus type 1 is the major etiologic agent in Bell palsy.

PMID: 7503474 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]