Abstract
Forty-six patients with Bell's palsy and 19 with Ramsay Hunt (RH) syndrome were studied. They were followed their course to complete recovery or for 6 months. They were observed as to the degree of paralysis and were tested repeatedly with Schirmer's test, the stapedial reflex test, the gustometry, the salivation test and the nerve excitability test (NET). The following results were obtained.
1) There was no relationship between the degree of paralysis and prognosis in either Bell's palsy or RH syndrome.
2) The affected regions were inferred in 70% of the cases of both Bell's palsy and RH syndrome. The affected areas were found from below the geniculate ganglion to above the chorda tympani nerve in Bell's palsy and centered mainly in the geniculated ganglion in RH syndrome.
3) A fourfold increase in the titer of varicella zoster virus was found in one out of 19 Bell's palsy patients and in four out of 12 cases of RH syndrome.
4) The results of the stapedial reflex test conducted at the fourth to fifth weeks after onset showed a correlation with the prognosis in Bell's palsy, that is, the prognosis depended on the presence or absence of abnormality. It may be said that the patients who visited a doctor within one month after onset and showed a normal response to the stapedial reflex test were able to make a complete recovery.
5) The results of the gustometry and NET conducted at the fourth to fifth weeks after onset showed a correlation with the prognosis in RH syndrome, that is, the prognosis depended on the presence or absence of abnormality. Patients who showed normal response to the gustometry at the time of the initial consultation within one month after onset were able to make a complete recovery.
