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facial nerve disorder
Etiology:
1) unilateral cranial nerve VII weakness
a) idiopathic: Bell's palsy
b) sarcoid & other granulomatous disorders
c) infection
- leprosy: especially with paralysis of upper face
- otitis media
- Lyme disease
- HIV
- Herpes Zoster (Ramsay Hunt syndrome)
d) neoplasms, mass effect
e) trauma
f) cardiofacial syndrome:
- lower lip or complete facial palsy
g) familial
h) CNS lesions
2) bilateral cranial nerve VII weakness (0.3% -2%)
a) 2nd facial nerve paresis occuring within 30 days of 1st
b) cranial nerve VII lesions
- Melkersson syndrome
- Mobius syndrome
- Guillain-Barre syndrome variant
- leprosy
- Tangier disease
- HIV infection: may occur before seroconversion
- Lyme disease
c) other peripheral causes
- motor neuron disorders
- myasthenia gravis
- myopathies
3) central cranial nerve VII lesions
a) pyramidal: lower face paralysis with voluntary motion
b) emotional: face paralysis with emotion
c) dorsolateral pons lesion
- superior cerebellar artery infarction
- unilateral
- with deafness, Horner's syndrome, or anhidrosis
d) extrapyramidal disorders
- bilateral
- parkinsonism
4) hemifacial spasm
Clinical manifestations:
- twitching or spasms
- paralysis
Specific
Bell's palsy; cranial nerve 7 palsy; facial nerve palsy
General
peripheral nerve disease; peripheral neuropathy
References
- Columbia University: Facial Nerve Disorders
http://www.entcolumbia.org/fndis.html
- FACIAL (VII) NERVE DISORDERS
http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/nanatomy/vii.htm