Bell's palsy ‐ part of a polyneuropathy?

Some authors have suggested that Bell's palsy should be considered a part of a polyneuritis cranialis and others, reporting Bell's palsy in patients with diabetes mellitus, proposed that it is an overt sign of a sub-clinical polyneuropathy. To study whether nerves other than the facial nerve were affected, the clinical findings of 112 patients with Bell's palsy were correlated with a quantitative EMG done on an asymptomatic leg muscle. The electromyographic results obtained from these leg muscles showed changes similar to those occurring in peripheral nerve lesions, and the changes correlated well with the degree of facial palsy. The results indicate that the patients with symptomatic facial dysfunction have an acute subclinical polyneuropathy.