BACKGROUND Immunosuppression and age-related deficiencies in cell-mediated immunity are important factors for the reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus (VZV). CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells and T helper 17 (Th17) cells are closely associated with various viral infections. OBJECTIVE We analyzed Treg cells and Th17 cells in patients with herpes zoster and investigated their r...

AIM AND BACKGROUND Herpes zoster is a viral disease caused by the reactivation of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) which remained latent in the cranial nerve or dorsal root ganglia. Cell-mediated immunity is known to decline with age as part of immunosenescence and can lead to the reactivation of VZV. Whereas herpes zoster is usually mild in healthy young persons, older patients are at increased ri...

Background.  The causes of varicella-zoster virus reactivation and herpes zoster (HZ) are largely unknown. We assessed potential risk factors for HZ, the data for which cannot be obtained from the medical sector. Methods.  We conducted a matched case-control study. We established active surveillance in Olmsted County, Minnesota to identify HZ occurring among persons age ≥50 years during 2010-20...

Ramsay Hunt syndrome (or herpes zoster oticus) is a rare complication of herpes zoster in which reactivation of latent varicella zoster virus infection in the geniculate ganglion occurs. Usually, there are auricular vesicles and symptoms and signs such otalgia and peripheral facial paralysis. In addition, rarely, a rash around the mouth can be seen. Immunodeficient patients are more susceptible...

UNLABELLED Herpes zoster is a common dermatological condition which affects up to 20% of the population, most frequently involving the thoracic and facial dermatomes with sacral lesions occurring rarely and only a few reported cases of penile shingles. CASE REPORT We report two cases of unusual penile clinical presentations of varicella zoster virus infection in immunocompetent men. The patie...

We report the first laboratory-documented case of herpes zoster caused by the attenuated varicella zoster virus (VZV) contained in Zostavax in a 68-year-old immunocompetent adult with strong evidence of prior wild-type VZV infection. The complete genome sequence of the isolate revealed that the strain carried 15 of 42 (36%) recognized varicella vaccine-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms...

BACKGROUND Statins are widely used lipid-lowering drugs with immunomodulatory properties that may favor reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus infection. However, whether statins increase the risk of herpes zoster is unknown. METHODS We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study of Ontario residents aged ≥ 66 years between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 2010 to examine the asso...

In 1998, a varicella-zoster virus glycoprotein E (gE) mutant virus (VZV-MSP) was isolated from a child with chickenpox. VZV-MSP, representing a second VZV serotype, was considered a rarity. We isolated another VZV-MSP-like virus from an elderly man with herpes zoster. These gE mutant viruses may have arisen through independent mutation or may represent a distinct VZV subpopulation that emerged ...

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a chronic neuropathic pain condition that lasts 3 months or more after an outbreak of shingles. Herpes zoster, especially acute herpes associated with the reactivation inactivated varicella zoster virus in individuals who have had chickenpox. PHN persistent and often refractory pain. Patients may experience several types pain, including deep intolerable burning, ...

Herpes zoster results from reactivation of latent varicella zoster virus infection. Risk of zoster increases with age and with depressed cell mediated immunity, but relatively little is known about other factors. Case reports and case series have indicated that mechanical trauma may be a risk factor. But these studies had no control group, and physical mishaps and surgical trauma are common in ...