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Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Human Cervical Dorsal Root Ganglionitis.
Tibor Valyi-Nagy1,2,3, Jaivir S Rathore2, Andrei M Rakic4
1Department of Pathology, University of Illinois School of Medicine at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
A patient with chronic occipital neuralgia found relief after surgery targeting the cervical dorsal root ganglion. Histopathology revealed herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection, suggesting a novel cause for this persistent headache.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Virology
- Pain Medicine
Background:
- Occipital neuralgia is a chronic pain condition often refractory to conventional treatments.
- Minimally invasive procedures and medical therapies frequently fail to provide lasting relief for severe cases.
Observation:
- A 34-year-old male presented with chronic occipital neuralgia unresponsive to standard treatments.
- The patient underwent a surgical cervical dorsal root ganglionectomy for intractable pain.
Findings:
- Histopathological examination of the resected dorsal root ganglia revealed active herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection.
- The findings indicated HSV-1 induced ganglionitis as the cause of the patient's persistent headaches.
Implications:
- This case is the first histopathologically confirmed instance of human HSV-1 cervical dorsal root ganglionitis.
- Herpes simplex virus type 1 infection is proposed as a potential etiology for occipital neuralgia, opening new diagnostic and therapeutic avenues.
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