Botox: A Promising Therapy Against Neuromuscular Disorders

Botox is widely known therapy for treatment of strabismus, blepharospasm, cervical dystonia, severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis and glabellar lines.

Botox® is in fact, a popular brand name owned by Irvine, California based American company Allergan, Inc. Allergan is a globally known and esteemed pharmaceutical company that produces eye care, skin care and neuromuscular treatment products. The pharma actually sells the potent neurotoxin, Botulinum toxin type A, under the brand name Botox.

Botox and Botrox Cosmetic got the U.S. FDA’s nod for treatment of strabismus, blepharospasm, cervical dystonia, severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis and glabellar lines respectively in 1989.

Botrox Cosmetic has shown brilliant success against moderate to severe glabellar lines associated with corrugators and/or procures muscle activity in adult patients. Glabellar lines are the frown lines between the eyebrows appeared to soften following treatment for eye muscle disorders.

Botox has had a great success as an effective treatment for Cervical Dystonia, Strabismus, Blepharospasm and Severe Axillary Hyperhidrosis.

Cervical Dystonia (CD) is the neuromuscular disorder that belongs to disorders known as focal dystonias. The CD in its severe form can cause abnormal head position and severe neck pain. It’s also known as spasmodic torticollis.

Strabismus is the disorder of crossed eyes. It is a neuromuscular disorder that causes a deviation in alignment of one eye from the other. It can occur gradually or rapidly in adults. Esotropia and Exotropia are two forms of Strabismus. The Esotropia (convergent strabismus) causes the eyes to turn towards the nose and Exotropia (divergent strabismus) causes the eyes to turn away from the nose. The eyes may also turn up and down.

Blepharospasm in simple words is an uncontrollable blinking. It is a neuromuscular disorder related to dystonia including essential blepharospasm or VII nerve disorder in patients 12 years of age and above. It affects the muscles that control eyelid movement and causes uncontrollable blinking. Its severe form can cause functional blindness.

Severe Axillary Hyperhidrosis in simple words is the severe underarm sweating. The condition involves hyperactive sweat glands that cause over-sweating.

In the beginning the botox therapy was used in the treatment of certain ophthalmic movement disorders, but presently it’s been used quite commonly against many therapeutic neuromuscular disorders, pain related to cosmetic facial aesthetics. Its use in the treatment of migraine headaches (chronic headache and chronic musculoskeletal pain) has considerably increased.

The researchers reckon that ‘botulinum toxin type A', can potentially be used to treat urinary incontinence, anal fissure, spastic disorders associated with injury or disease of the central nervous system including trauma, stroke, multiple sclerosis, or cerebral palsy and focal dystonias affecting the limbs, face, jaw, or vocal cords. There’re also evidences that botrox can help in weight loss by increasing the gastric emptying time, but the FDA hasn’t given green signal yet.