Spinal ‘Botox’ Jab Could Relieve Inflammation Related Pain

Spinal ‘Botox’ jab could relieve inflammation-related pain

by

Priyanka Verma

Botulinum toxin A or ‘Botox’, as it is popularly tagged in the beauty world, has already earned quite a reputation for erasing wrinkles and making the facial skin appear fresh and youthful. Now, a new research has found that the drug can relieve pain when injected into the spinal canal.

Botox or BTXA, as it is called in medical parlance, has been approved earlier this year by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of increased muscle stiffness in the elbow, wrist, and fingers in adults with upper limb spasticity, a condition that may occur following a spinal cord or traumatic brain injury or in patients affected by multiple sclerosis or adults with a history of cerebral palsy

Have spinal botox to relieve pain

Now, the new research by scientists from Seoul National University has found that the miracle wrinkle erasing drug reduces responses to an inflammation-related pain stimulus when injected into the spinal canal in mice.

“BoNT/A, with its long-lasting antinociceptive effect, may be a useful analgesic in inflammatory pain,” Newswise quoted lead researcher Won-Ho Lee, of Seoul National University, as saying.

Study details

To find out the effects of spinal BoNT/A injection, Lee and colleagues used a standard experimental model of pain in mice.

In this model, the formalin chemical was injected into the paw, which produced a predictable two-phase inflammatory pain reaction. Pain behaviors in the rodents of both groups- one received spinal Botulinum neurotoxin and the other did not- were then monitored for up to four weeks.

What the researchers found?

The researchers found that even a single spinal Botox injection produced a pain-reducing effect. The animals receiving the injection exhibited significantly fewer pain behaviors, particularly during the second phase of the pain response.

The pain-reducing effects of a single dose of Botulinum neurotoxin were not accompanied by any movement abnormalities, suggesting that the drug did not adversely affect spinal cord function.

These effects peaked at 10 days, then decreased up to 14 days. Mice that received Botulinum neurotoxin injection also exhibited significant reductions in certain neurotransmitters involved in various types of pain conditions.

The study appears in the January issue of ‘Anesthesia and Analgesia,’ official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

About Botox

Botox (botulinum toxin type A) is a neurotoxin protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum. It is one of the most poisonous naturally occurring substances.

The most common use of Botox is known to almost all of us. Doctors use the drug to smooth facial wrinkles by paralyzing the muscles that cause them to form.

Apart from treating facial wrinkles, Botox is also used to treat other ailments including cervical dystonia or rigid neck muscles, migraine headaches, uncontrollable blinking, crossed eyes, excessive underarm sweating as well as certain pain disorders and several other disorders that cause repeated muscle twitching.

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