ZOSTER SINE HERPETE, A CLINICAL VARIANT

Two otherwise healthy immunocompetent men, ages 62 and 66 years, exper ienced years of radicular pain without tester rash. An extensive searc h for systemic disease and malignancy was negative. Varicella-zoster v irus DNA, but not herpes simplex virus DNA, was found in the cerebrosp inal fluid of the first patient 5 months after the onset of pain, and in the second patient 8 months after the onset of pain. Prolonged radi cular pain without tester rash combined with the presence of varicella -zoster virus in the cerebrospinal fluid indicates that both men had t ester sine herpete, and strongly supports this syndrome as a clinical variant.