[Infective pathogens as a possible etiology of idiopathic peripheral facial paralysis]

A prospective clinical study was carried out from 1988 until 1990 on 38 consecutive patients with Bell's palsy at the Neurological Department of Innsbruck University Hospital. The age range was between 16 and 88 years, the female:male ratio was 18:20. Serological methods were employed to study the impact of infectious agents on the aetiology of this disease. 11 out of 38 cases (= 29%) were probably infectious in origin, whereby 6 cases were due to Borrelia burgdorferi, 4 to Varicella zoster virus (VZV) and 1 to Herpes simplex virus (HSV), as determined by elevation of antibody titre or presence of specific IgM. Patients with a significant serological finding were treated with ceftriaxon or tetracycline for borreliosis or with acyclovir for VZV or HSV infection. Altogether, in 36 of the 38 cases a full recovery was seen at the last follow-up investigation.