Bell's palsy is an acute peripheral unilateral facial paralysis of unknown cause. It is the most common acute facial paralysis, with an incidence of 20-30 per 100 000 people annually. In our series of 3385 patients with acute facial paralysis over the past 30 years, Bell's palsy accounted for 2097 cases (62%). PCR usually identifies fragments of DNA of herpes simplex virus in clinical samples from patients with Bell's palsy. These fragments were detected more often in saliva from patients with Bell's palsy than in saliva from healthy volunteers.1 Such DNA fragments were also identified in the endoneural fluid of the facial nerve during facial-nerve decompression surgery in 11 of 14 patients (79%) with Bell's palsy.2 Thus we speculate that reactivation of herpes simplex virus might lead to Bell's palsy: herpes simplex virus is involved in about 31-79% of cases of Bell's palsy.1'3
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