In 1907 J. Ramsay Hunt suggested that
herpes zoster oticus resulted from a
geniculate ganglionitis; however, many contemporary authors believe that this disorder represents a
neuritis or polycranial neuropathy. Herpes
varicella-
zoster viral (VZV)
DNA was identified, using the polymerase chain reaction, in archival
celloidin-embedded temporal bone sections from two patients who clinically had
Ramsay Hunt syndrome (
herpes zoster oticus). The presence of VZV was confirmed by sequencing the PCR products. These experiments demonstrated that VZV genomic
DNA was present in the geniculate ganglion of the side with
facial paralysis and cutaneous recrudescence in both patients and in the clinically unaffected side in patient 1. In addition, patient 2 had a
sudden hearing loss and was found to have VZV genomic
DNA in sections from the affected side containing the spiral ganglion, Scarpa's ganglion, organ of Corti, and macula of the saccule. No VZV genomic
DNA was identified in temporal bone sections from five patients with
Bell's palsy and ten patients without evidence of
otologic disease. In this study, the histopathology of these two cases yielded complementary information regarding the role of VZV in
herpes zoster oticus. These data suggest that in patients with
Ramsay Hunt syndrome, latent VZV is located in the geniculate ganglia and may be present in the auditory and vestibular primary afferent ganglia in some patients.