Abstract
Interferons are produced in response to viral infection and play an important part in defense by their antiviral effects. An interferon induced enzyme, 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase (2-5AS) also takes an important part of the system of defense against viral infections, and its activity elevates in nonspecific viral infections.
This study was designed to evaluate the usefulness of examining serum 2-5AS activity and peripheral blood WBC 2-5AS (WBC 2-5AS) as diagnostic aids of viral infections that cause facial paralysis.
Samples were obtained from 83 patients with Bell's palsy, 20 with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, 74 healthy individuals, and a total of 177 subjects. In 177, we measured serum 2-5AS level in 123 subjects, WBC 2-5AS level in 57, and both in 25.
Serum 2-5AS levels in Bell's palsy (60cases) ranged from 20 to 146 pmol/dl (average: 38.5). The range in Ramsay Hunt syndrome (13) was 20-333 (average: 59.0). and in healthy controls (50), it was 20-128 (average: 41.4). WBC 25AS level ranged from 20 to 5900 pmol/dl (average: 733.2) in Bell's palsy (23 cases), from 20-4540 (average: 1371.4) in Ramsay Hunt syndrome (7), and from 20-903 (average: 294.5) in healthy individuals (24).
There were no statistically significant differences in serum 2-5AS activitys. Otherwise there was significant difference (p<0.01) between healthy individuals and Patients with Ramsay Hunt syndrome in WBC 2-5AS activity. In Bell's palsy, 3 cases (13.0%) with markedly high WBC 2-5AS levels existed.
In conclusion, measurement of serum 2-5AS activity is not a useful diagnostic tool of viral infections in peripheral facial paralysis. And 3 cases with high 2-5AS levels imply that 13.0% of causes are virus involvement in Bell's palsy.
