The Medical Uses Of Botulinum Toxin
Initially, botulinum toxin is known to be a very poisonous substance which can paralyze or kill if one accidentally consumed it through contaminated food. The botulinum bacteria are everywhere, including its spores making it prevalent in marine sediments and soil anywhere in the world. The botulinum toxin's spores can often be found on fruits and vegetables as well as seafood. Once these foodstuffs are consumed, the toxin attaches to the body's nerve endings where the muscles and nerves link. This is what caused paralysis from the cranium down to certain muscles that regulate one's breathing.
Later on, as more tests were conducted, results discovered that it can also be used as a medical treatment. When used in purified form, the botulinum toxin can be used as medicine. Today, it is primarily used to treat certain medical conditions that are distinctly marked with involuntary muscle contractions. However, the botulinum toxin remains very poisonous despite its medical uses to heal certain muscle disorders.
The botulinum toxin's medical uses were first discovered in the 1950s when researchers injected minute doses into overactive muscles, causing muscles to lose its ability to contract for a short period of time, between 4 to 6 months. When used in very small doses, the botulinum toxin can treat agonizing muscle spasms. This toxin was first used to treat uncontrollable blinking and crossed eyes. It is later used as a cosmetic treatment when its cosmetically desirable results were discovered after treatments of certain eye muscle disorders led to the softening of frown lines around the eyes. This discovery happened in the early 1990s and the botulinum toxin is now commercially sold as Botox and Dysport in certain parts of the world.
Today, the uses of Botox are not only limited to cosmetic treatments. The botulinum toxin is also used in treating migraines, cervical dystonia (a neuromuscular disorder which involves the neck and head), excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis), involuntary eye muscle contraction (blepharospasm), and achalasia (the inability to relax one's lower esophageal sphincter). Other medical uses of the botulinum toxin which are not yet approved by the US FDA include the treatment of anal fissure, incontinence due to neurogenic bladder or overactive bladder, spastic disorders resulting from traumatic injury or diseases such as Bells palsy, multiple sclerosis, stroke or Parkinson's disease, diabetic neuropathy and TMJ pain disorders. In addition, the botulinum toxin also showed clinical evidence that it can help weight loss by primarily increasing the gastric emptying time. Botulinum Toxin's Possible Side-Effects If you are considering getting treatment for either cosmetic purposes or muscle disorders, be sure to discuss its possible side-effects with your doctor first. The botulinum toxin's possible side-effects include immediate muscle paralysis if injected in the wrong muscle group and allergic reaction to the substance. These side-effects are usually foreseen from the molecule's protein chemical structure as well as from its mode of action. If you have bruises at the area where the toxin was injected, do not be alarmed. Bruising results from how the toxin was administered. Bruises normally fade after a few days.
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