Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
According to numerous authors, Bell’s palsy is among the potential neurologic consequences of HIV infection that has been primarily described in the early stages. In actuality, polyradiculopathy, opportunistic infections, or nervous system malignancies are frequently secondary causes of facial palsy that manifests in the late stages of the disease when there is a significant immunodeficiency.
One of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in people with HIV infection or AIDS is neurological problems. In various stages of HIV illness, the peripheral nervous system is commonly involved, and numerous etiopathogenetic mechanisms exist.
There aren’t many clinical trials reporting facial palsy linked to HIV infection in the present literature. According to a research team, three Bell’s palsy patients with HIV have come to their observation between 1986 and 1992. They were all asymptomatic (CDC II), whereas one of them showed the first clinical manifestations of HIV infection. This patient’s Bell’s palsy and those reported by others had a fair prognosis and were self-limiting.
The infection known as HIV targets the body’s immune system, particularly the CD4 cells, which are white blood cells. A person’s resistance to opportunistic diseases like fungal infections, tuberculosis, severe bacterial infections, and several malignancies is weakened due to HIV’s destruction of these CD4 cells.
