Botox Intervention Improves Facial Asymmetry After Nerve Damage
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, March 18, 2025 -- For patients with severe oral commissure droop from facial nerve damage undergoing surgery, botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) treatment helps to alleviate muscle hyperactivity, leading to improvement in facial asymmetry, according to a study published in the March issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Hao Ma, M.D., from Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, and colleagues examined the impact of BoNT-A treatment on the unaffected side in 38 patients with severe oral commissure droop from facial nerve damage with respect to facial symmetry and brain connectivity. Participants were divided into two groups: those who did and did not receive BoNT-A injections on the unaffected side (20 and 18 patients, respectively).
The researchers found that BoNT-A treatment improved facial symmetry and induced significant modifications in brain functional network connectivity. The modifications extended beyond the sensorimotor network, involving high-level cognitive processes. There was a significant correlation between functional network connectivity and the degree of asymmetry.
"BoNT-A treatment appears to promote significant modifications in functional brain network connectivity, thereby sustaining the positive effects of BoNT-A," the authors write. "Our findings imply that the facial asymmetry is linked to the characteristics of large-scale functional networks."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted March 2025
Read this next
Mental Health, Neurodevelopmental Diagnoses in Publicly Insured Children on the Rise
WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- The percentage of publicly insured children receiving any mental health or neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosis significantly increased between 2010...
Declining Childhood Vaccination May Increase Risk for Vaccine-Preventable Infections
WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- Declining childhood vaccination rates may increase outbreaks of eliminated vaccine-preventable infections within the United States, leading to a...
AACR: Incidence-Based Mortality Dropping for Young Women With Breast Cancer
TUESDAY, April 29, 2025 -- Incidence-based mortality (IBM) declined from 2010 to 2020 among women aged 20 to 49 years diagnosed with breast cancer, according to a study presented...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.