Migraine Headaches Helped By Botox

Tuesday 16th February 2010

This months edition of the Archives of Dermatology reveals how the drug that is used within Botox procedures, (Botulinum toxin type A) can in fact reduce the intensity of headaches that are described as ocular or imploding. The study investigated a small group of migraine suffering patients who were undergoing Botox to their face and found a promising correlation between the easing off of migraines with the injections of Botox.

The study was a continued investigation into several previous studies that had recognised the benefits of Botox on people who had suffered from debilitating headaches. Lead researcher Dr Christine Kim and her team of colleagues analysed a small group of 18 patients who were undergoing a Botox procedure for cosmetic reasons but also suffered from migraines. Previous studies had shown that the drug worked 87% of the time for patients who described their headache as ocular or imploding, e.g. eye-popping, vice-like; whereas those who described their head as exploding were found to accommodate for 90% of the people who did not feel benefits. In this particular study, of the 18 people tested a total of 12 felt they had benefited from the procedure with regards to their migraines, over a three month period. 10 of the patients had previously experienced imploding headaches with 2 of them experiencing exploding ones. Those who did respond were found to have a reduced migraine frequency from 6.8 to 0.7 days a month.

Scientists still remain unsure as to just how Botox appears to have this affect on migraine sufferers but feel that it could have something to do with the blocking of pain as it travels in the nervous system which is perhaps prevented due to the muscle paralysis caused in Botox. What is clear however is the 100% affect that the treatment had on patients who had imploding headaches, as 10 out of 10 in this study found their migraine frequencies dramatically reduced.

Find Cosmetic Surgery Clinics »

---

« Latest UK Health & Medical News More Cosmetic Surgery News »