Botulinum toxin may help acute traumatic sixth nerve palsy

Botulinum toxin may help expedite the recovery of acute traumatic complete sixth nerve palsy in severely injured patients, according to a Taiwanese retrospective study.

H.-L. Hung and colleagues at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital reviewed the charts of 33 patients treated for acute unilateral complete sixth nerve palsy caused by head injury. The patients were treated at Chang Gung over a 10-year period, the researchers noted. The patients were divided into two groups: 14 who received a botulinum toxin injection within 3 months of injury and 19 who had no previous botulinum toxin injection or surgery.

The total group of patients who received botulinum toxin had a higher recovery rate than those who did not.

However, among 26 patients (79%) who presented with an abduction deficit of grade –5, the rate of recovery in patients who received botulinum injection was not significantly different from the rate in those who received no injection, the authors said.

The study is published in the March issue of Eye.