Ramsay Hunt syndrome associated with varicella zoster virus reactivation affecting the central nervous system is rare. We describe a 55-year-old diabetic female who presented with gait ataxia, right peripheral facial palsy, and painful vesicular lesions involving her right ear. Later, she developed dysmetria, fluctuating diplopia, and dysarthria. Varicella zoster virus was detected in the cereb...

A 36-year-old man presented with facial nerve palsy, hearing loss, vertigo and headache. He was initially diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome and treated with a systemic steroid and valaciclovir; however, his symptoms deteriorated. Serum rapid plasma reagin (RPR) and treponema pallidum hemagglutination tests were positive. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed an elevated white blood cell count...

Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a rare complication of herpes zoster disease in which reactivation of latent varicella zoster virus infection occurs in the geniculate ganglion causing otalgia, unilateral vesicular eruption in a restricted dermatomal distribution, and peripheral facial paralysis. Dermal infections caused by human pathogenic herpes viruses are common in organ transplant recipients. For a...

Ramsay Hunt syndrome is an infection of the head and neck caused by varicella zoster virus involving the facial nerve; less commonly, other cranial nerves might be involved. We report a case of Ramsay Hunt syndrome in an immune compromised patient, with classic facial nerve palsy and ipsilateral ear vesicles, which rapidly evolved to involve multiple cranial neuropathies, and improved dramatica...

Ramsay-Hunt syndrome is caused by varicella zoster virus infection in the geniculate ganglion of the facial nerve. It is characterized by facial palsy, otic pain, and herpetic vesicles around the auricle and external auditory canal. Additionally, symptoms may develop related to other cranial nerve involvement, such as dizziness or hearing loss by the vestibulocochlear nerve being invaded. We re...