Herpes Simplex Virus May Cause Bell’s Palsy

Using highly refined genetic techniques, medical researchers in Japan have identified the common cold sore virus, herpes simplex, as the likely cause of most cases of Bell’s palsy, a debilitating facial paralysis for which there is currently no specific treatment.

Bell’s palsy results from an inflammation of a major facial nerve. It causes pain in the jaw and numbness and drooping on one side of the face.

In the new study, published in the current issue of The Annals of Internal Medicine, Dr. Shingo Murakami and colleagues at the Ehime University School of Medicine identified pieces of herpes virus genes from the involved nerves and muscle tissue of 11 of 14 patients with Bell’s palsy. But no such genetic footprint was found in patients with other facial conditions.

The new finding suggests that the antiviral agent acyclovir, which is active against herpes viruses, might be used along with the anti-inflammatory agent prednisone to treat Bell’s palsy as soon as it is diagnosed. Acyclovir is unlikely to cure the condition because the facial nerve has already been damaged when the first symptoms of the palsy appear. But it may lessen the effects and shorten the duration of symptoms.