Another point for Botox

What else has Botox in store for us? Let’s see: on top of smoothing out wrinkles, Botox has been found out to be effective in treating Bell’s Palsy, depression, incontinence, knee pain, etc.

Now here’s another use for botulinum toxin, according to denverpost.com: it could ease spasms from stroke.

Botox is a drug derived from botulinum toxin. At high doses, it paralyzes muscles. At lower ones, it relaxes them. It is well-known as a wrinkle reducer. But Botox was originally approved as a treatment for uncontrollable blinking (blepharospasm) and misaligned eyes (strabismus), and it is used for a number of neurological conditions that feature overactive muscles.

Severe damage to one side of the brain, whether from a stroke, trauma, or some other cause, leads to not only weakness on the opposite side of the body but also abnormal muscle tone (spasticity is a type of abnormal muscle tone). Frequently people hold a leg out stiffly, while holding an arm close to the chest with the elbow, wrist, fingers flexed. Daily activities become difficult. Just keeping the arm and hand clean is a problem. Often there’s a lot of pain.

Baclofen (Lioresal), a muscle relaxant, isn t very effective. Diazepam (Valium) relaxes muscles but makes people drowsy. So Botox is an exciting new option. The injections relax muscles and relieve pain.

Score another point for this supposedly poisonous substance.