Recent study in Migraine, the neurological disease that causes extreme headaches, has surfaced more than it was thought till now. Not only does the killer pain causes nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light, sound, or smell, it also leads to weakness or paralysis of the face called Bell’s palsy.
As per the stats, Bell’s palsy is seen affecting nearly 10 to 40 per 100,000 people annually. However, majority of people do recover completely.
Chances of Bell’s palsy higher in migraine patients
The study was conducted between two groups of 136,704 people who were over 18 years of age. One group included the migraine patients while other was without any; the groups were followed for nearly three years.
During that time frame, about 671 people in the migraine group while 365 in the other team were diagnosed with Bell’s palsy for the first time. After keeping conditions like sex, high blood pressure and diabetes constant, researchers figured out that people who suffered from migraine were twice more likely to develop Bell’s palsy than the others.
Facial paralysis
Although the causes are still not clear but prior to this study, Bell’s palsy was considered to be due to herpes virus leading to cold sores. Or certain inflammation causing damage to the facial muscles.
Facial paralysis is also related to infection, inflammation or heart and vascular problems and now with this research, migraine too would be considered an other cause. However, if a common link is identified, it might lead to better cure for both the problems, added Shuu-Jiun Wang, MD, with National Yang-Ming University.
Image: [Magnum Heart Institute], [Wikipedia], [Hopkins Medicine]
Source: PsyPost
