INTRODUCTION Simultaneous involvements of multiple cranial nerve ganglia (geniculate ganglion and peripheral ganglia of cranial nerves VIII, IX and X) by varicella-zoster virus and its subsequent activation may result in the characteristic eruptions of herpes zoster cephalicus. Coexistence of facial palsy and involvement of upper cervical dermatomes by varicella-zoster virus is quite rare. CA...

A 7 years old boy presenting with acute flaccid paralysis after Varicella zoster infection was diagnosed as having acute transverse myelitis on MRI. He recovered fully after treatment with intravenous corticosteroids and acyclovir. The occurrence of this condition during or following Varicella infection is uncommon. There are previously very few reported cases of post-Varicella acute transverse...

Infections are rare but important causes of stroke. Among these, varicella zoster virus has been known to cause ischemic stroke. During an attack of herpes zoster ophthalmicus, it has been hypothesized that the virus replicates in the trigeminal ganglion and travels via the trigeminal nerve centrally to cause cerebral vasculopathy. Here we present a case of a 69 year-old Caucasian immunocomprom...

Varicella zoster virus can infect the trigeminal ganglion, but viral infection is not frequently considered as a cause of trigeminal neuralgia. This is a case of a woman whose trigeminal neuralgia remitted after being treated with valacyclovir for a thoracic zoster rash and later resolved entirely following administration of the zoster vaccine. Successful treatment of trigeminal neuralgia with ...

A 21-month-old girl with neuroblastoma developed chronic verrucous Oka strain varicella-zoster infection during chemotherapy. Virus isolated from the patient demonstrated high-level acyclovir resistance, and its thymidine kinase had no in vitro enzymatic activity. After foscarnet therapy, she underwent stem cell transplantation without varicella reactivation. This is only the second reported ca...

Many countries are currently studying the possibility of mass vaccination against varicella. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive picture of the pre-vaccine epidemiology of the varicella zoster virus (VZV) to aid in the design of immunization programs and to adequately measure the impact of vaccination. Population-based data including physician visit claims, sentinel surve...

The varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a virus of the subfamily of Alfavirus responsible for infections with different clinical presentations. Primary infection occurs more frequently in the pediatric age presented as chickenpox. The reactivation of the infection occurs mainly in immunosuppressed patients, in the form of Herpes-Zoster [1]. Varicella-Zoster virus is associated with severe neurologi...

An indirect hemagglutination test has been adapted for use with varicella-zoster serology. Antigen was made in infected WI-38 human diploid cell line. The indirect hemagglutination antigen seemed to be a subunit of the virus particle. The antibodies measured in the test are well correlated with neutralizing and complement-fixing antibodies in cases of zoster but not in cases of varicella.

Whether viruses or immunologic factors might cause or prevent human brain cancer is of interest. Statistically significant inverse associations of adult glioma with history of chickenpox and immunoglobulin G antibodies to varicella-zoster virus have been reported. The authors evaluate associations of immunoglobulin G antibodies to varicella-zoster virus and three other herpesviruses among 229 a...

The in vitro susceptibility of five strains of varicella-zoster virus to acyclovir was examined by the plaque-reduction method in human diploid lung cells. The 50% effective doses of acyclovir ranged from 2.06 microM to 6.28 microM in a 7-day assay, with a mean of 3.65 microM. Irreversible inhibition of plaque formtation was achieved by drug doses exceeding the 50% effective dose for plaque red...