Steroid Use Questioned for Common Lyme Disease Manifestation
[CanLyme Note: Facial palsy, Bell’s Palsy, is not as common in Lyme patients as reported. It is easily recognized making those patients much more likely to be diagnosed. Most patients with Lyme disease do not experience facial palsy as it is typically a facial numbness and tingling/burning, often around the mouth, nose, and the tongue.]
Sept. 7th, 2016
Compared to antibiotic monotherapy, corticosteroid use in the treatment of Lyme disease-associated facial paralysis may actually worsen outcomes for patients. Findings of this long-term study were published online in the journal Laryngoscope.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School followed 51 patients with Lyme disease-associated facial paralysis – a common manifestation of the disease – for an average of 15 months….