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Reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1 in patients with Bell's palsy
Author(s) -
Furuta Yasushi,
Fukuda Satoshi,
Chida Eiji,
Takasu Tsuyoshi,
Ohtani Fumio,
Inuyama Yukio,
Nagashima Kazuo
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9071(199803)54:3<162::aid-jmv3>3.0.co;2-3
Subject(s) - bell's palsy , palsy , herpes simplex virus , pathogenesis , medicine , bell palsy , facial paralysis , hsl and hsv , virology , virus , saliva , immunology , pathology , surgery , alternative medicine
Reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV‐1) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of idiopathic peripheral facial palsy (Bell's palsy). The present study used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to analyze the saliva of patients with Bell's palsy for the presence of shed HSV‐1. The study involved 47 patients with Bell's palsy, 24 patients with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, and 16 healthy HSV‐seropositive volunteers. HSV‐1 DNA was not detected in the saliva samples from HSV‐seronegative patients. The prevalence of shed HSV‐1 in patients with Bell's palsy (50%) was significantly higher than that in healthy volunteers (19%, p<0.05). When saliva samples were tested within 7 days after the onset of palsy, the prevalence of shed HSV‐1 in patients with Bell's palsy (40%) was significantly higher than that in patients with Ramsay Hunt syndrome (7%, p<0.05). Furthermore, HSV‐1 usually became undetectable by the second week after the onset of Bell's palsy when HSV‐1 was detected during the acute phase of the disease. These findings strongly suggest that reactivation of HSV‐1 is involved in the pathogenesis Bell's palsy, and indicate that PCR is a useful tool for early diagnosis of HSV‐1 reactivation in patients with Bell's palsy. J. Med. Virol. 54:162–166, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.