Botox & Neuromuscular Disorders

Clostrodium botulinum, a dangerous strain of bacteria that causes food poisoning, can provide health benefits when administered as a therapeutic agent called Botox. Certain varieties of this toxin, injected in tiny amounts into the troubled area, can not only help smooth wrinkles as a cosmetic procedure but can also tame neuromuscular disorders that cause involuntary spams and other difficulties. Because this drug interferes with nerve function, however, patients must accept the risk of potentially dangerous side effects.

Use

• Doctors use Botox as a remedy for a family of neuromuscular conditions collectively called dystonia, according to Health Communities, which defines dystonia as uncontrollable muscular contractions caused by incorrect nerve firing. Botox therapy, applied in small dosages, can relieve these muscular spams. Doctors do not use most of the seven known varieties of the C. botulinum toxin, relying on Type A for cosmetic therapy and Type B for medical therapy. Type A uses the trade name Botox Cosmetic, while Type B goes by the trade name Myobloc.

Action

• Muscles contract in reaction to signals from the brain conveyed by a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, according to Drugs.com. The botulinum protein, when injected into the site of the neuromuscular disorder, prevents acetylcholine from entering the affected area, putting an end to nervous tics or muscular malfunctions.

Indications

• Botox therapy can treat many kinds of dystonia. Conditions that benefit from this therapy include face and jaw spams, neck spams known as cervical dystonia or spasmodic torticollis, eye misalignments and involuntary eye blinking. Botox can help with speech or voice problems such as stuttering or vocal chord spasms. It also help resolve neuromuscular problems in other areas of the body, such as urinary retention, a severe problem involving the bladder muscles that would otherwise require catheterization to allow the patient to pass urine.

Side Effects

• Doctors must administer botulinum carefully, in tiny amounts, to achieve the desired results without causing serious side effects from this powerful toxin. Even under optimum conditions, some patients may experience a degree of muscle weakness in the area that receives the Botox. For instance, patients treated for blepharospasm, or involuntary blinking, may experience a temporarily drooping eyelid. A few patients may encounter other symptoms that resemble influenza.

Considerations

• According to EMed TV, Botox may pose unknown risks during pregnancy or when passed through breast milk to babies. Health Communities warns that botulinum toxin can sometimes move from its original site to other areas of the body, resulting in such alarming and potentially dangerous symptoms as breathing, swallowing or speaking problems, incontinence or blurred vision. Patients and doctors alike should remain aware at all times that this beneficial therapy gets its healing powers from a deadly nerve poison and that some degree of risk accompanies its use.