title: Acute peripheral facial palsy. Part of a cranial polyneuropathy?
abstract: In 14 of 16 consecutive patients with acute peripheral facial palsy, one or more (up to four) other nerves were involved. The nerves affected in addition to the facial nerve were as follows: trigeminal (ten patients), vestibular (eight), cochlear (six), vagus (one), and upper cervical (five). Virus was not isolated from any of the patients. A fourfold increase or decrease in complement-fixing antibody titers was present in eight patients (in four, varicella-zoster; in one, varicella-zoster and mumps; in two, cytomegalovirus; in one, mumps). Further, two of the patients with varicella-zoster antibodies showed clinical signs of herpes zoster oticus. About one fourth of all patients had an increase of ESR and of alpha2-globulins in serum, and two thirds of them had increased gamma-globulins in CSF. Acute peripheral facial palsy seems to be part of a cranial polyneuropathy and may be caused by a viral infection.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D001299:Audiometry; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D003056:Cochlear Nerve; D003168:Complement Fixation Tests; D003391:Cranial Nerves; D005154:Facial Nerve; D005158:Facial Paralysis / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology*; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000150:complications; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000150:complications; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human; D006801:Humans; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology; D014276:Trigeminal Nerve; D014725:Vestibular Nerve; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral