An unusual cause of dyspnea in a patient with cervical herpes zoster

Motor involvement in acute herpes zoster does occur,but is rare. Most causes of zoster paresis are due to the extension of the inflammation to the anterior horn and/or anterior motor roots. We report a female patient with an unusual diaphragmatic paralysis caused by cervical herpes zoster. The lesion, diagnosed by MRI, involved the anterior horn of the cervical spinal cord.