Steroids effective treatment for Bell’s Palsy
News release from the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment
30 November 2007
Research commissioned by the NIHR HTA programme suggests that early treatment of Bell’s Palsy, a type of facial paralysis, with steroids significantly improves the chances of a complete recovery.
Bell’s Palsy is caused by problems with the facial nerve and can result in facial disfigurement and paralysis of one side of the face. There is currently no preferred treatment for the condition, which affects around 40 people in every 100,000 in the UK each year, but up to now it has been thought that steroid or antiviral therapies could be effective.
The clinical trial, the largest of its kind, investigated the clinical and cost-effectiveness of steroid and antiviral treatment for patients with Bell’s Palsy. Researchers from the Universities of Dundee, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh recruited nearly 600 patients across 17 sites in Scotland. Participants were randomly allocated into four groups to receive 10 days of treatment, with either the steroid prednisolone and the antiviral acyclovir combined, just prednisolone, just acyclovir, or placebo treatment.
The research team concluded that early treatment with prednisolone is an effective and cost-effective treatment for people with Bell’s Palsy, with 96% of participants given prednisolone recovering full facial function after nine months. However 85% of participants not given prednisolone also recovered full facial movement, suggesting that a decision to offer no treatment could still be an effective strategy.
“The results of our study provide good clinical evidence to support the use of steroids as a treatment for Bell’s Palsy, a condition where currently there is no clear treatment strategy,” says lead researcher Professor Francis Sullivan. “We hope our research will enable clinicians to have informed discussions with their patients regarding the use of steroids.”
The results of the trial are published in The New England Journal of Medicine Volume 357 Number 16 (http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/357/16/1598 ). The full report will shortly be published in the acclaimed Health Technology Assessment journal. To register to be alerted by email when the project publishes in full visit http://www.hta.ac.uk/project/1375.asp
Notes for editors
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The HTA programme is a programme of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and produces high quality research information about the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. It is the largest of the NIHR programmes and publishes the results of its research in the Health Technology Assessment journal, with more than 400 issues published to date. The journal’s 2006 Impact Factor (5.29) ranked it in the top 10% of medical and health-related journals. All issues are available for download free of charge from the website, www.hta.ac.uk The HTA programme is coordinated by the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA), based at the University of Southampton.
- The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility. The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training. Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk
Contact details
Naomi Stockley, Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 646, Email: ns5@soton.ac.uk
Helen Nikandrou, Assistant Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 584, Email: h.nikandrou@soton.ac.uk
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