 life at...70 something and beyond
BOTOX:
BEYOND THE BEAUTY BENEFITS
By Ernesto Capulong, M.D.
Celebrities, models and regular folk rely on Botox® to stave off “Father Time” and eliminate facial lines and wrinkles, but Botox® is gaining increasing attention for its use in the treatment of a debilitating and painful condition known as spastic paralysis.
Also referred to as spasticity, spastic paralysis often occurs following a stroke, spinal cord injury, or brain injury. It is estimated that spasticity affects from 19 to 38 percent of stroke patients, often affecting the hands and wrists. Spastic paralysis results from damage to the portion of the nervous system that controls and coordinates the movement of voluntary muscles (which are the muscles that allow us to walk, throw a ball, grip a pen, play the piano, sit in a chair, etc.) Spastic paralysis leads to stiffness and lack of mobility in these muscles, disrupting mobility, reclining as well as dressing, hygiene, washing and other activities of daily living.
In the same way that Botox temporarily relaxes the muscles that contract to form lines and wrinkles, it can relax the muscles of patients with spastic paralysis. For patients who don’t respond to other conservative therapies and rehabilitation, Botox may be an effective treatment. Patients can continue to receive injections, avoiding more complex and radical treatments, such as surgery, as long as the injection provides relief. Patients experience relief within three to seven days following an injection. Relief typically lasts three to six months, so repeat injections are usually required. Patients can receive the injections for several months or years after their disability.
A recent study led by Indiana University neurologist Allison Brasher, M.D., on the benefits of Botox in reducing spasticity, found that people who had severe spasticity in their hands and fingers after a stroke were twice as likely to get relief from Botox injections as compared to patients who did not receive them.
botox may be effective in treating spastic paralysis.
The History of Botox
It was only by chance that Botulinum toxin A—better known as Botox®, was found to diminish wrinkles. When it was introduced more than 30 years ago, it was used to treat people with facial muscle disorders. Then in 1989, the FDA approved its use to treat such conditions as crossed eyes and uncontrollable blinking. Approximately 11 years later, the FDA approved its use for cervical dystonia, an ailment associated with severe neck and shoulder pain.
Botulinum toxin is a protein that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, the culprit of food poisoning, botulism. The bacterium relaxes muscles by blocking the release of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, which triggers muscles, prompts excitability, arousal, and reward, and activates learning and short-term memory.
—Capulong
Dr. Capulong is director of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Therapy at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside.
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