Botox

Botox

Botox is a drug made from a neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum called botulinum toxin. It is used medically to treat certain muscular conditions and cosmetically remove wrinkles by temporarily paralyzing muscles.

Botulinum toxin is sold commercially under the names Botox and Dysport

Neurotoxins are toxins that target the nervous system and disrupt the signaling that allows neurons to communicate effectively.

How does it work?

 

Botulinum toxin is injected to treat certain muscular conditions and cosmetically remove wrinkles by temporarily paralyzing muscles.

Botulinum toxin has proven to be a successful and valuable therapeutic protein when dosage, frequency of treatment and variety of treated clinical conditions are considered.

 

“Only the dose makes a remedy poisonous”

 

Botulinum toxin can be injected into humans in extremely small concentrations and works by preventing signals from the nerve cells reaching muscles, effectively leaving the muscles without instructions to contract, therefore paralyzing them.

 

In order for muscles to contract, nerves release a chemical messenger, acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter), at the junction where the nerve endings meet muscle cells. The acetylcholine attaches to receptors on the muscle cells and causes the muscle cells to contract or shorten. Injected botulinum toxin prevents the release of acetylcholine, preventing contraction of the muscle cells. The effect of botulinum toxin causes a reduction in abnormal muscle contraction allowing the muscles to become less stiff.

Medical and cosmetic uses

 

Botulinum toxin’s main claim to fame is that it will appear to iron out wrinkles and lines in aging faces. More than just a vanity product, it can be useful for treating a variety of medical conditions ranging from eye squints to migraines and excess sweating. There are currently over 20 different medical conditions that botulinum toxin is being used to treat with more being discovered regularly.

 

Approved therapeutic uses for botulinum toxin:

How is the procedure performed?

 

The botulinum toxin is administered by diluting the powder in saline (sodium chloride) and injecting directly into neuromuscular tissue, the toxin requires 24-72 hours to take effect, reflecting the time necessary to disrupt the synaptosomal process, and require 2 weeks for the full effect to be observed.

Botulinum toxin should not be used in pregnant or lactating women, as well as people who have had a previous allergic reaction to the drug or any of its ingredients.

Risks and side effects

 

Injections with botulinum toxin are generally well tolerated and side effects are few. Uncommon responses to a drug because of a genetic predisposition are uncommon, generally mild, and transient.

Along with its needed effects, botulinum toxin may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all, if any, of these side effects may occur like headache and bruising