ABSTRACT
Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome is a rare condition, classically associated with a triad of facial and/or lip edema, fissured tongue, and relapsing facial palsy. This article offers a review of the literature and presents two cases of Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome associated with elevated serum levels of angiotensin converting enzyme in two patients of Thai descent.
Subject(s)
Melkersson-Rosenthal Syndrome , Adolescent , Female , Humans , Male , Melkersson-Rosenthal Syndrome/enzymology , Melkersson-Rosenthal Syndrome/genetics , Middle Aged , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/blood , Texas , Thailand/ethnologyABSTRACT
We have presented the case of a 37-year-old white man who had recurrent, unilateral, facial edema, temporary partial facial nerve palsy, sensory loss along the ophthalmic and maxillary divisions of the fifth cranial nerve, ageusia bilaterally on the anterior two thirds of the tongue, right extraocular muscle palsies, and intractable migraine-type headaches, leading to the diagnosis of Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome. The serum angiotensin converting enzyme levels, which are postulated to derive from undiscovered granulomas, were found to be elevated. Methotrexate therapy mitigated the clinical course of the disease, and may prove to be useful in the treatment of this rare and recalcitrant condition.
