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Bell Palsy

Bell Palsy Overview

Named after Surgeon Sir Charles Bell and also known as facial palsy, Bell palsy is the sudden weakness of one side of the face. It is often temporary and is attributed to the inflammation of the facial nerve that controls the muscles on the weakened side of the face.



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Bell Palsy

Lyme Disease Overview

Lyme disease, sometimes referred to as Lyme infection, is a bacterial illness, transmitted to humans by the bite of deer ticks (Ixodes ticks) carrying a bacterium known as Borrelia burgdorferi. The disease has been reported in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, North Central, and Pacific coastal regions of the United States (see map) and in Europe, where it was first described almost 100 years ago. It is most prevalent in the northeastern states of the United States, with about half of all cases clustered in New York and Connecticut.

Doctors at New Haven's Yale Medical Center first described and named Lyme disease in the United States in the late 1970s. An unexpected number of residents in Lyme, Connecticut, were found to have a "new" and unusual illness.

  • Fortunately, less than 5% of tick bites in high-contact areas result in Lyme infections.
  • Doctors have learned a great deal about the illness since th...

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Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine

Bell Palsy »

Bell palsy, more appropriately known as idiopathic facial paralysis (IFP), is believed to be a virally mediated cranial neuritis affecting the facial nerve due to reactivation of the herpes simplex virus (HSV).

Read More on eMedicine »

Medical Dictionary