RSS Feeds
Bell Palsy and Herpes Simplex Virus: Identification of Viral DNA in Endoneurial Fluid and Muscle
- Shingo Murakami, MD;
- Mutsuhiko Mizobuchi, MD;
- Yuki Nakashiro, MD;
- Takashi Doi, MD;
- Naohito Hato, MD; and
- Naoaki Yanagihara, MD
- From Ehime University School of Medicine, Ehime, Japan. Acknowledgments: The authors thank Dr. S. Shinkai for conducting the statistical analysis. Grant Support: By a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (06454488), Japan. Requests for Reprints: Shingo Murakami, MD, Department of Otolaryngology, Ehime University School of Medicine, Shigenobu-cho, Onsen-gun, Ehime 791-02, Japan. Current Author Addresses: Drs. Murakami, Hato, and Yanagihara: Department of Otolaryngology, Ehime University School of Medicine, Shigenobu-cho, Onsen-gun, Ehime 791-02, Japan.
Abstract
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.
- Copyright ©2004 by the American College of Physicians
