Active clinical trials for "Bell Palsy"

To determine the effectiveness of electrical stimulation with MIME therapy versus electrical stimulation with PNF technique for improving strength & restoring lost motor function in the patients of Bell's palsy

The problem posed is the possibility of objectively assessing facial muscle mobility. Today, in patients with facial paralysis, the assessment of the deficit is carried out using a subjective scale such as the House Brackman [1] or EMG scale of the facial nerve but does not distinguish each muscle individually . Objective measurements of skin muscles such as thickness and volume, in preoperative assessment of a facial paralysis rehabilitation surgery, would be useful in order to choose the most appropriate surgical technique. Indeed, too much amyotrophy will contraindicate hypoglosso-facial anastomosis (VII-XII) and it will be preferable to propose a temporal elongation myoplasty or a reinfused free muscle flap. Similarly, it would be useful to be able to objectively evaluate the recovery of muscle function after facial allo-transplantation. Although electromyography has been developed since the work of Duchenne de Boulogne, little research has been carried out on the development of noninvasive methods to objectively characterize in vivo skin muscles (variation, position, orientation, morphometry). The main morphometric data of the skin muscles come from anatomical dissections. Imaging of the skin muscles has not been specifically developed. Some studies have been carried out to visualize these muscles in MRI 1.5 Tesla in pathologies such as myasthenia gravis, facial paralysis, and labio-alveolo-palatine clefts for example. The originality of the project is to develop a method allowing to establish a quantitative correlation between the movements of the face and the muscular changes. This correlation will be achieved by associating muscular morphological data derived from MRI acquisitions and cutaneous deformations resulting from clinical examinations. This non-invasive approach should make it possible to establish objective and reproducible indicators in patients with facial paralysis sequelae.

The facial palsy concerns between 15 and 40 people per 100000 inhabitants. They are of various etiologies such as infectious, tumoral, traumatic or idiopathic. It has variable severities with sometimes heavy functional repercussions and different recovery potentials. The proposed palliative treatments are based on surgery, physiotherapy and botulinum toxin injections. However, when recovery is incomplete, acceptance is more difficult, with an impacted quality of life. In this context, patients' expectations and feelings about their care may become difficult for clinicians to apprehend. The eye-tracking is widely used in the marketing field, but it also finds medical applications including head and neck lesions and facial palsy in particular. Published studies focus on the gaze of photographs, excluding any notion of dynamics and by the analysis of the gaze of outside observers, ignoring the patient's gaze.The main objective is to evaluate the attention paid to the facial side with abnormal facial movement by patients with facial paralysis compared to healthy volunteers.

This is an observational study that evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Korean integrative treatments in patients with peripheral facial nerve palsy. Adulthood patients aged between 19 to 69 who were diagnosed with peripheral facial nerve palsy and receive Korean integrative treatments for facial palsy will be enrolled in the study and the change will be followed according to the Facial disability index (FDI) at the 3 month moment after baseline.

In this study, patients who have undergone facial paralysis surgery will be asked to participate. The goal of this study is to compare the facial disability and perception outcomes of facial reanimation surgeries in patients with extensive and permanent, unilateral paralysis using 3D analysis, and compare patient-centered outcomes of facial appearance, well-being, and satisfaction using validated questionnaires. The focus point of this study will be on outcomes of mid-facial reanimation surgeries in patients with more extensive and permanent, unilateral, paralysis of varied etiology and presentation. The specific aims of the study are as follows. Specific Aim 1. To quantitatively determine the surgical effects/impact on facial disability (facial impairment and disfigurement) among four surgically treated groups of patients with unilateral facial paralysis who undergo free gracilis muscle transfer driven by (1) a trigeminal nerve (nV) graft, (2) a crossface nerve graft (nVII), (3) dual innervation comprising both nerves, and (4) midfacial modification. We will compare the changes in facial disability among the groups before and after surgery, and the differences in facial disability between each surgery group and the controls before and after surgery. Specific Aim 2. To compare among the surgery groups the changes in self-perceptions of facial appearance and well-being that occur due to facial reanimation surgery, and to compare the surgery groups before and at 18 months to historical controls recruited during the tenure of the R21 grant. Specific Aim 3. In patients with facial paralysis, to compare surgeons' current qualitative assessment and 2D, quantitative assessment of facial impairment and disfigurement with the objective, 3D, quantitative assessments in order to determine the clinical utility of the 3D assessment approach as an outcome measure and relevance for dissemination to the surgical community.

To evaluate the comparative effectiveness of the Kabat rehabilitation technique with conventional physical therapy along with electrical stimulation in both, for reducing facial disability in patients with Bell's palsy. To assess the prognosis of patients with Bell's palsy, using the assay of serum level of ischemia-modified albumin, high-frequency ultrasonography (HFUS), and electrophysiological studies of the facial nerve.

Bell palsy (BP) is the most common cause of acute facial palsy, which leads to functional and esthetic disturbances for patients and results in a lowered quality of life. Electroacupuncture (EA) received attention as an alternative and complementary treatment method. The low-frequency continuous wave EA and the intermittent wave EA have been used in the management of BP. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy and safety of these two electroacupuncture waveforms for different severity groups of BP.

The facial palsy is a frequent disease with a lot of etiologies. It has variable severities with sometimes heavy functional repercussions and different recovery potentials. The proposed treatments are based on surgery, physiotherapy and botulinum toxin injections. However, when recovery is incomplete, acceptance is more difficult, with an impacted quality of life. Thanks to Motion Capture and Electromyography, a quantification of the facial mimicry is now possible with a great precision. In addition with the quantification of the facial mimicry, eye-tracking, wich is widely used in the marketing field, but it also finds medical applications including head and neck lesions and facial palsy in particular, will be used to evaluate the visio of the patients on their pathology in function of the movement quantification measured with MoCap and Electromyography. The aim of this research is to measure in a combined way the action potentials by sEMG and the amplitudes of displacement of the markers in motion capture, for movements determined in a population of patients presenting a facial pathology, in order to compare them with reference values obtained in healthy subjects. In a second step, the aim will be to study if there is a link between the way the patient looks at his pathology and the results of his management (treatment, rehabilitation) which will be quantitatively evaluated thanks to MoCap and sEMG.

After an episode of facial paralysis, as nerves recover, they aberrantly regenerate and send additional branches to the incorrect muscles in addition to the intended muscle. This leads to what is known as Aberrant Regeneration Syndrome, Post-paralysis Synkinesis, or Nonflaccid Facial Paralysis. It is characterized by poor facial symmetry and function, hypertonic facial muscles at rest, and abnormal facial movements. One sequela is acquired blepharoptosis causing a smaller ocular aperture, visual field obstruction, cosmetic deformity, and abnormal periocular spasms. This study aims to evaluate an FDA approved medication for acquired blepharoptosis due to synkinesis/hyperkinesis as an adjunct to treatment.

The purpose of this study is to determine efficacy of apraclonidine for patients with ocular synkinesis, who are seen in the UAB Facial Nerve Clinic.