Surprise findings reveal that Botox injections may reduce anxiety up to 72%, according to a recent study.
Scientists in California have found reductions in anxiety symptoms for people receiving Botox, regardless of where it was injected.
Botox (or Botulinumtoxin) is a medicine derived from bacteria. Botox can be injected to reduce wrinkles, migraines muscle spasms, excess sweating, and incontinence.
Researchers are speculating that botulinum toxic substances may reduce anxiety symptoms. However, it is not known how they do this.
If Botox is commonly used to treat chronic conditions that may contribute to anxiety – for example, wrinkles – its success in relieving the underlying problem may indirectly also relieve anxiety.
The study authors believe that clinical trials will prove to be essential to find the most effective site for Botox and the appropriate dose.
Botox (or Botulinumtoxin) is an injection that’s derived from a bacteria toxin. This medication can be used to reduce wrinkles, muscles spasms, excess sweating, and incontinence. It has been shown to reduce anxiety symptoms, regardless of where it is injected.
The research was performed by experts at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego, in collaboration with two physicians from Germany.
Botox injections are used to inject Botox in over one million Britons every year. It is more popular than ever in the United States.
Botox can cause serious side effects, such as swelling, pain or bleeding at the injection site and headaches.
According to Ruben Abagyan of University of California San Diego, a variety of adverse side effects have been reported to FDA. His main goal is usually to discover those dangerous side effects not found during clinical trials.
“But, our idea wasn’t the same. Why don’t we do the opposite? Why don’t we find beneficial effects?’
For the study, Abagyan and colleagues studied the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Adverse Effect Reporting System (FAERS) database.
FAERS contains some 13 million individual reports of negative effects after taking various medications – among them, reports from nearly 40,000 people of what happened to them after Botox treatment, taken for a variety of reasons.
In the UK, the cost of Botox injections can vary from about £100 to £350 for each treatment, depending on the clinic and the area being treated
Team members searched for anxiety-related conditions in the Botox treatment group and found that there was less of it than previously thought.
After that, the team developed a mathematical algorithm in order to identify statistically significant variations between Botox users versus patients receiving different treatments.
People receiving Botox injections at four different sites on the body – including the forehead – reported anxiety significantly less often than patients undergoing different treatments for the same conditions, they found.
Botox was used to reduce anxiety in four out of eight conditions.
Torticollis (also known as “wryneck”) is when the neck twists and causes the head tilt to an unusual angle.
According to Abagyan, the data on four other injection sites did not provide enough information for statistically significant confidence intervals.
They said that they had not received any reports from people who were also using antidepressants, which are commonly used to treat anxiety.
They also admit that there may have been instances when prescriptions and other over-the-counter medication were not reported.
Abagyan’s team also published a second study using the same data that showed Botox was an effective treatment for depression.
Botox patients reported significantly lower levels of depression than those who had received other treatments.
The results of both studies showed a decline in symptoms, regardless of the injection site.
This challenges the notion that Botox can make patients feel happier simply because there are fewer wrinkles or they frown less.
Researchers aren’t sure of the molecular mechanisms that Botox uses to reduce anxiety and depression, but they could be very different.
Scientific Reports published the new study today.