Seroprevalence of herpes simplex and varicella zoster virus among diabetic and non-diabetic patients with acute peripheral facial palsy

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to study the prevalence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella zoster virus (VZV) seropositive patients among diabetic patients with acute peripheral facial paralysis (APFP) as compared to non-diabetics with APFP and a healthy control group.

METHODS: Participants consisted of 40 diabetic patients and 40 non-diabetic patients with APFP from Hai Al-Jamea Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia studied over a period from July 2000 to December 2001. In addition, 20 age and sex matched healthy volunteers were included as a control group. Paired sera were obtained from all participants within the first 4 days of the illness (acute phase) and 2-3 weeks later (convalescent phase). Paired sera were also obtained from the control group within an equivalent period. Detection of immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG class antibodies to HSV and VZV in these sera was carried out using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays kits. The demonstration of IgM antibodies, 2-fold elevations of IgG antibodies or both was considered positive evidence for virus infection.

RESULTS: The present study has shown that there was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of HSV-seropositive patients in the diabetic and non-diabetic patients with Bell’s palsy; however, it was significantly higher in both groups than in the healthy control group. There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of VZV-seropositive patients among the 3 groups.

CONCLUSION: The significantly high prevalence of HSV-seropositive patients among the diabetic as well as the non-diabetic patients with Bell’s palsy suggests an equally important role of HSV infection in the pathogenesis of Bell’s palsy in the diabetic as in the non-diabetic patients.