While not an official contributer to 'Of Two Minds,' Shelley's sidekick is an African Grey parrot named Pepper. His heros are Irene Pepperberg, Alex, and Rachel Carson. He spends his time learning Mandarin and writing the Great American novel.
Botulinum in the Brain After Botox Injections?
Category: Tastes Like Neuroscience
Posted on: April 9, 2008 8:41 AM, by Shelley Batts
Something to think about next time those vanity pangs hit (Mac-users, I'm looking at you): new research published in the April 2nd Journal of Neuroscience reports that botulium (the toxin in the popular cosmetic Botox injections) can reach the nervous system when injected into the facial muscles of rats. Although the toxin would only reach the nerve in minute amounts, botulinum toxin is potent even in small amounts and may still disrupt nerve activity. Currently the FDA is reviewing the safety of Botox injections, which are used to paralyze the muscles of the face and thereby reduce the appearance of wrinkles, due to 16 deaths that have resulted from injections.
Botulinum toxin is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and, by and large, has been safely used by medical professionals to treat a variety of maladies from muscle spasms to migraines to wrinkles. This 'safety' has been attributed to the toxin's localization--specifically, it doesn't leave the injection site or spread to other systems and tissues, where it could be harmful or fatal. This study, conducted by Atonucci et al, suggests that botulinum toxin can be transported backwards along microtubles (the 'skeleton' of cells, which can also move molecules) and leave muscle cells. It can pass through the muscle cell's membrane, and find itself in the afferent nerve terminal adjacent to the injection site. Whether it is enough to interfere with nerve functioning remains unclear, but perhaps will be further studied in the wake of the FDA review.
Comments
Hmmm... Botulinum toxin from cosmetic injections making it to the recipient's brain...
Well, if nothing else, this helps explain all the repeat customers!
Posted by: Sam Wise | April 9, 2008 12:39 PM
at what point did people stop thinking about the fact that injecting a potent neurotoxin into their face might have negative side effects? oh, right, this is cosmetic science.
how many people would stop taking PE drugs if they were told there was increased risk of alzheimers or something similar?
Posted by: darkman | April 9, 2008 2:00 PM
Silly me...Here I was thinking that some of the altered speech of certain celebrities was due to drugs or alcohol or both. Now I can blame the dreaded botulism. Seems that Age is bound to have her way with us one way or another.
Posted by: AnnieH | April 10, 2008 4:13 PM
I know that with the exception of re-constructive surgery following disease or accident that the majority of cosmetic procedures are mostly elective procedures and mostly not medically necessary to begin with... But, thank you for the article, this one procedure has been a pet peeve of mine since I heard about it. So, injecting one of the most deadly toxins known into a patients face with the intended outcome of making their wrinkles appear lessened for a temporary amount of time is a bad idea? Wow, who knew? I really never got this one to begin with and never understood how the use of this drug for this purpose ever got approval.
Posted by: Earthceuticals | April 11, 2008 12:07 AM
Anyone stupid or vain enough to have a NEUROTOXIN injected into their faces deserve to have brain damage. I hope this study is true.
Posted by: Mark | April 12, 2008 9:51 PM