A study into the treatment of Bell's palsy has won the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited (MSD) 2007 Research Paper of the Year Award.

Now in its twelfth year, the award recognises an exceptional piece of original research relating to general practice or primary care that has been published in a peer reviewed journal during the preceding year.

Originally published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the winning paper 'Early treatment with prednisolone or acyclovir in Bell's palsy' addressed the question of the most effective treatment for Bell's palsy, an idiopathic weakness of the facial nerve from which up to 30 per cent of patients make an incomplete recovery.

The authors, from the universities of Dundee, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh, and St John's Hospital in Livingston, were praised by the judging panel for their "very rigorous study" which gave GPs "reliable guidance for the first time on how Bell's palsy should be managed."

The award - together with a cheque for £1,000 provided by MSD - was presented by Dr Paul Robinson, Medical Director of MSD, at an Awards Dinner held at the RCGP in London.

"We are proud to support the Research Paper of the Year Award", said Dr Robinson. "The winning paper is a great example of scientifically robust research, carried out in UK General Practice, answering a real, practical question - how best to manage Bell's Palsy.

"Through the RCGP/MSD Research Paper of the Year Award, we hope that the importance of such work is highlighted and more GPs and primary care teams are encouraged to get involved in research."

The 2007 Highly Commended Research Paper of the Year Award was given to a team of researchers from Birmingham University for their paper 'Warfarin versus aspirin for stroke prevention in an elderly community population with atrial fibrillation (the Birmingham Atrial Fibrillation Treatment of the Aged Study, BAFTA): a randomised controlled trial', which was first published in the Lancet.

Professor Greg Rubin, Chair of the Award Panel, said: "The 'Highly Commended' award is only given in exceptional circumstances. We chose to commend this paper in recognition of the scientific quality and the complexity of its execution, and for its great value for practising clinicians in managing the care of an increasingly aged population."

Notes

- 'Early treatment with prednisolone or acyclovir in Bell's palsy' can be downloaded here.

- 'Warfarin versus aspirin for stroke prevention in an elderly community population with atrial fibrillation (the Birmingham Atrial Fibrillation Treatment of the Aged Study, BAFTA): a randomised controlled trial' can be downloaded from lancet

- More information about the Research Paper of the Year Award can be found here.

- The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of over 35,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.

- Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited (MSD) is the UK subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, USA, a leading research-based pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of innovative pharmaceutical products to improve human health.

The Royal College of General Practitioners

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