title: Nerve growth factor for Bell's palsy: A meta-analysis.
abstract: A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nerve growth factor (NGF) in the treatment of Bell's palsy. PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase and a number of Chinese databases, including the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Biology Medicine disc, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals and Wan Fang Data, were used to collect randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of NGF for Bell's palsy. The span of the search covered data from the date of database establishment until December 2013. The included trials were screened comprehensively and rigorously. The efficacies of NGF were pooled via meta-analysis performed using Review Manager 5.2 software. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the fixed-effects model. The meta-analysis of eight RCTs showed favorable effects of NGF on the disease response rate (n=642; OR, 3.87; 95% CI, 2.13-7.03; P<0.01; I2=0%). However, evidence supporting the effectiveness of NGF for the treatment of Bell's palsy is limited. The number and quality of trials are too low to form solid conclusions. Further meticulous RCTs are required to overcome the limitations identified in the present study.
authors.affiliation: Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, Shandong 264003, P.R. China ; Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yipeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, Shandong 264003, P.R. China ; Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaomeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Library of Binzhou Medical University, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, Shandong 264003, P.R. China ; Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yaozhi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jinbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: Bell’s palsy; meta-analysis; nerve growth factor