Unilateral and Reversible Hypoglossal Nerve Palsy in Infectious Mononucleosis Syndromes: Two Rare Cases from Our

Gheorghiță Jugulete1,2, Mădălina Maria Merișescu1,2, Alexandra Totoianu2

  • 1Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Infectious Diseases, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania.

Viruses
|February 27, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Infectious mononucleosis can cause rare hypoglossal nerve palsy in children due to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) or Cytomegalovirus (CMV). Prompt treatment leads to favorable outcomes with full recovery of tongue function.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Hypoglossal nerve palsy is an infrequent neurological complication of infectious mononucleosis.
  • Potential causes include virus-induced neuritis (Epstein-Barr virus or Cytomegalovirus) or lymphadenopathy-related compression.

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