[Facial palsy in Lyme disease]

This paper reports twenty four cases of facial palsy in Lyme Disease for the first time in the forest region. Most cases had history of tick bite. Two strains of spirochete were isolated from the blood of 7 patients with facial palsy. These spirochetes were immunologically closely related to B. burgdorferi. Eighteen serum samples of facial palsy were tested by indirect fluorescence assay, using B. burgdorferi B-31 as antigen. In serum, IgG antibody titers of 1:64 to 1:2048 were found in 50% of the cases. We suggest that neurologists should consider the possibility of Lyme Disease in the diagnosis of facial palsy.