Trigeminal herpes zoster and ramsay hunt syndrome with a lesion in the spinal trigeminal nucleus and tract

Chia Wei Hung, Shuu Jiun Wang, Shih Pin Chen, Jiing Feng Lirng, Jong Ling Fuh*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report the case of a 77-year-old immuno-competent man who developed herpes zoster in the maxillary and mandibular branches of the trigeminal nerve. Within 3 weeks, he developed ipsilateral peripheral facial palsy, hearing loss, vesicles over the external auditory canal, and pain in the face and ear. A T2-weighted MRI of the brain revealed a hyper-intense lesion at the right medulla corresponding to the spinal trigeminal nucleus and tract. Gadolinium enhancement was seen over the right facial nerve. These lesions suggest a possibility of transaxonal spread of the varicella zoster virus between the trigeminal nerve, the facial nerve, and the spinal trigeminal nucleus and tract.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1045-1046
Number of pages2
JournalJournal of Neurology
Volume257
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2010

Keywords

  • Facial paralysis
  • Herpes zoster
  • Herpes zoster oticus
  • Magnetic resonance imaging
  • Ramsay Hunt Syndrome
  • Spinal trigeminal nucleus
  • Varicella zoster virus

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