Botox is the commercial trade name for botulinum toxin type A, a neurotoxic protein produced by the anaerobic, Gram positive, spore-forming bacteria Clostridium botulinum. It is marketed in injectable form by the pharmaceutical company Allergan as Botox Cosmetic for the treatment of facial lines and wrinkles. It minimizes the appearance of wrinkles by immobilizing the underlying muscles that cause facial lines and creases. It is also emerging as a treatment for migraine headache.
Using Botox for migraines is nothing new. Findings from scientific studies conducted as early as 1999 show that Botox is safe and effective for the treatment of the symptoms of migraine headaches. The symptoms of migraine headaches include severe head pain, nausea and visual or light sensitivity problems. In severe cases sufferers can have slurred speech and temporary paralysis.
Research on the use of Botox for migraines began when it was discovered that a number of patients receiving Botox injections for the treatment of deep wrinkles on the forehead stopped having migraine headaches or had significantly fewer migraine headaches since starting the injections. There was complete recovery from migraine in about half of them and partial improvement in about one third.
In a formal study conducted in 1999 by Los Angeles plastic surgeon Dr. William Binder and three other doctors, 100 patients were classified into three groups. One group consisted of those who had true migraines. Those who probably had migraines made up another group. The composition of the third group was of those who did not have migraines. After several months, migraine headaches in half the patients had completely disappeared. 37 per cent reported that they were suffering migraines half as often, or that the severity of their migraines was halved.
The patients who reported that they no longer suffered from migraine headaches said that their symptoms had disappeared four months after receiving Botox injections. Of those who had acute migraines, complete benefit was experienced by 8 out of 13 within one or two hours. The benefits far outweighed the disadvantages; the only adverse effects reported in the administration of Botox for migraines were temporary local pain caused by the injections and slight bruising.
Previous research had shown that by relaxing the muscles, botulinum toxin A injections can reduce tension type headaches. However, the principal cause of migraine is not tension. So the researchers were surprised that Botox had such a good effect in the case of migraines. The study proponents then concluded that Botox can not be said to be a cure, but Botox for migraines certainly helped relieve the symptoms, based on the results that were achieved.
Researches that were done more recently on the use of Botox for migraines showed slightly different results. In a study conducted in 2000 by Dr. Richard Glogau, professor of dermatology at the University of California San Francisco, 18 out of 24 patients experienced four to six months of migraine relief following injections of Botox. In 2005, Dr. David Dodick of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Arizona conducted another study and reported that in patients suffering from an average of 14 migraines a month, the frequency dropped to only 6 a month after receiving Botox injections.
The medical use of Botox for migraines is not yet approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration but is approved for neurological disorders such as cervical dystonia (also known as spasmodic torticollis), blepharospasm, and strabismus. Migraine headache is also a neurological condition. The fact that Botox is an effective therapy for certain neurological syndromes indicates that there really is a positive connection between Botox and migraines.
