Search Results (3)

Background/Objectives: Facial nerve injury from conditions such as Bell’s palsy, trauma, surgery, and infection leads to facial asymmetry and motor deficits. Axotomy models reproduce peripheral nerve disruption and consequent motor impairment. To compare the effects of forward versus reverse autologous nerve suturing on neural regeneration and motor recovery within the facial nucleus after axotomy. Methods: In rats subjected to facial nerve axotomy, motor recovery was assessed at 8 weeks using whisker movement and blink reflex tests. Immunohistochemistry quantified choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), and Iba-1 as indices of cholinergic function, cellular stress/inflammation modulation, and microglial activation in the facial nucleus. Results: Axotomy significantly reduced whisker and blink scores compared with sham. Both forward and reverse suturing significantly improved these behavioral outcomes versus axotomy. Within the facial nucleus, axotomy decreased ChAT- and SIRT1-positive cells and increased Iba-1 expression, while both suturing techniques increased ChAT and SIRT1 and reduced Iba-1. These changes suggest enhanced cholinergic function, mitigation of stress/inflammatory responses, and attenuation of microglial activation following repair. Conclusions: Forward and reverse suturing were each associated with improved motor function and favorable molecular and cellular changes in the facial nucleus after facial nerve axotomy. These findings support the utility of surgical repair irrespective of graft orientation and highlight involvement of key pathways—cholinergic signaling, SIRT1-related regulation, and microglial activity—in nerve restoration. This work extends our previous study, which focused on peripheral nerve regeneration after forward and reverse suturing, by elucidating how graft orientation affects central facial nucleus responses. By integrating behavioral outcomes with ChAT, Iba-1, and SIRT1 expression, the present study provides novel insight into the central mechanisms underlying motor recovery after facial nerve repair and helps explain why comparable functional outcomes are achieved regardless of graft polarity. Full article

Background: We aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of hematological inflammatory indices and monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) in the diagnosis and prognosis of Bell’s palsy. Method: The study included 156 cases diagnosed with Bell’s palsy in the neurology clinic and 156 healthy controls. The patients diagnosed with Bell’s palsy were staged according to the House–Brackmann Scoring system. Hematological inflammatory parameters such as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) levels, and MHR were calculated from the parameters in the patient files. Result: Hematological inflammatory parameters such as NLR, PLR, SII, SIRI, and MHR were found to be higher in Bell’s palsy patients. In addition, these parameters were found to be higher in patients with grade V and above Bell’s palsy and in patients who did not respond to treatment, compared to the grade IV group and patients who responded to treatment, respectively. SIRI was an independent predictor of both the diagnosis of the disease and the lack of response to treatment, and this was confirmed by LASSO analysis. Conclusions: This study is among the few that demonstrated predictive models based on hematological inflammatory indices that can aid in both the diagnosis and treatment response assessment of newly diagnosed Bell’s palsy patients, validated using the LOOCV method. The findings highlight the potential clinical utility of simple, inexpensive, and practical biomarkers such as NLR, PLR, SII, SIRI, and MHR. These easily accessible parameters may support early diagnosis and prognostic evaluation in routine clinical settings. Full article

Introduction: Bell’s palsy is a common acute peripheral neurological disorder causing unilateral facial paralysis. Its exact etiology remains unknown, but it is linked to inflammation, immune responses, infections, and ischemia. This study explores the potential causal relationship between Bell’s palsy and peripheral blood inflammatory proteins, metabolites, and immune cell characteristics. Methods: Genetic data for Bell’s palsy were obtained from the Finnish database (version R10) and IEU OpenGWAS. A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach was applied, analyzing 4907 plasma proteins, 731 immune cell traits, 91 inflammatory proteins, and 1400 metabolites. The Finnish dataset served as the discovery cohort, while the IEU OpenGWAS dataset acted as the validation cohort. Bioinformatics analyses included protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, colocalization, and Linkage Disequilibrium Score Regression (LDSC) to identify candidate proteins and explore potential therapeutic targets. Results: MR analysis identified 70 inflammatory proteins, 77 metabolites, and 26 immune cell traits as potentially causally associated with Bell’s palsy. After external validation, BLVRB, HMOX2, TNFRSF12A, DEFB128, ITM2A, VEGF-A, and DDX58 remained significantly associated (p < 0.05). PPI network analysis led to 31 candidate proteins, and six core proteins (JAK2, IL27RA, OSM, CCL19, SELL, VCAM-1) were identified. Conclusions: Our study identifies causal relationships between inflammatory proteins, metabolites, immune cells, and Bell’s palsy, highlighting that the JAK/STAT signaling pathway may be a potentially critical target for intervention in Bell’s palsy, and that its modulation may provide new directions and opportunities for therapeutic strategies and drug discovery for the disease. Full article