Commentary on: Lee HY, Byun JY, Park MS, et al. Steroid-antiviral treatment improves the recovery rate in patients with severe Bell's palsy. Am J Med 2013;126:336–41.[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3] Bell's palsy is an acute, peripheral facial paresis of unknown cause. Fortunately, many patients with Bell's palsy recover completely. However, about 15% end up with sequelae. The more severe the initial paresis, the poorer the patient's prognosis. Age is also an influencing factor, with less than 50% of patients aged over 60 achieving complete recovery.1 The existing literature suggests that Bell's palsy is caused by a reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1 and in some cases of varicella zoster virus (sine herpete). The inflammatory reaction against the virus causes swelling of the nerve, which consequently … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DAm%2BJ%2BMed%26rft.volume%253D126%26rft.spage%253D336%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1016%252Fj.amjmed.2012.08.020%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F23394867%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1016/j.amjmed.2012.08.020&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=23394867&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febmed%2F19%2F1%2F15.atom
