The Efficacy of Low-Level Laser Therapy in the Treatment of Bell’s Palsy in Diabetic Patients

Abstract

Introduction: The most common causes of the abrupt onset of unilateral facial weakness are stroke and Bell’s palsy. The drug regimen together with electrical stimulation was more effective in treating Bell’s palsy than conventional drug treatment alone. We aimed to evaluate more effective and safe therapies for the treatment of Bell’s palsy. Methods: This clinical interventional study was conducted on 30 diabetic patients with Bell’s palsy who referred to a pain clinic for 1 year and were treated by low-level laser (LLL). The system of House-Brackmann was used for assessing the severity of nerve damage and patients were evaluated by electromyography and nerve conduction study (NCS) before and after treatment with low-level laser. These patients had not consumed any other medication for facial nerve palsy. Results: In the present study, 30 cases with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus (18 females and 12 males) were studied. After 12 sessions of low-level laser therapy (LLLT), we could observe complete recovery in 18 patients and partial recovery in 6 patients after 3 months. Conclusion: The recovery rate showed that LLLT is a safe, reliable and proper alternative approach for the treatment of facial nerve palsy, especially in the presence of underlying conditions such as diabetes mellitus.

Photobiomodulation Therapy in Recovery of Peripheral Facial Nerve Damage

“…All researchers in the descriptive studies reported improvement of Bell's palsy on House-Brackman (H-B) grade following LLLT at the ending of their treatment sessions. The effect of LLLT on the treatment of Bell's palsy has also been reported in diabetic patients, 23 children, 26,29 and chronic Bell's palsy. 28 When reviewed the human studies, there were no reported adverse effects during treatment and/or follow-up sessions.…”

“…[17][18][19] Of 8 human studies, 2 studies were designed as randomized controlled study (RCT) 21,22 and 6 studies were descriptive studies (Table 2). [23][24][25][26][27][28] One study had two parallel RCT design, the LLLT group and control group. 21 The other study had three parallel RCT design including highlevel laser therapy, LLLT group, and control group.…”

“…Researchers of these RCT studies reported significant improvement on the physical and social facial disability index (PFDI and SFDI) following LLLT at the ending of their treatment sessions (Table 3). Of 6 descriptive studies, one study was clinical intervention study on effect of LLLT in diabetics with bell's palsy 23 and 5 articles were case report. [24][25][26][27][28] These descriptive studies applied NIR range of wavelength with various number of treatment session and period of treatment ( Table 2).…”

Recovery from Idiopathic Facial Paralysis (Bell’s Palsy) Using Photobiomodulation in Patients Non-Responsive to Standard Treatment: A Case Series Study

“…However, their recovery was prevalently a partial result [40]. Aghamohamdi et al [41] showed that the House-Brackmann grading scale ameliorates to grade I (18 cases), grade II (six cases), and grade IV (six cases) through 12 sessions of PBM on 30 patients with diabetes. Lastly, Ordahan and Karahan [42] observed positive effects of PBM associated with expression exercises on 23 patients treated in the subacute phase of the disease.…”

“At-Home” Photobiomodulation: A New Approach for Bell’s Palsy Treatment

“…Aghamohamdi and co-authors, in a clinical study on 30 diabetic patients with Bell's palsy, demonstrated that PBM is a safe, reliable, and proper alternative approach for the treatment of facial nerve palsy, especially in the presence of underlying conditions such as diabetes mellitus [ 19 ].…”