Botox May Relieve Anxiety Symptoms: CA Study

San Diego CA

21 December, 2021

6:49 PM

Description

SAN DIEGO, CA — Botox is predominantly known for its ability to erase forehead wrinkles, but what if we told you it could also help wipe away your worries? Researchers in California just found a new use for the injectable medication — anxiety relief, according to a new collaborative study between professors at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego and physicians from Germany. The new study revealed that people receiving Botox injections at four different sites on the body reported a significant reduction in anxiety, according to the university. "A large number of diverse adverse effects are being reported to the FDA and the main objective usually is to find those harmful side effects that had not been identified during clinical trials," said Dr. Ruben Abagyan, a professor of pharmacy at UCSD. "However, our idea was different. Why don't we do the opposite? Why don't we find beneficial effects?" Researchers found that the reported anxiety risk was 22 to 72 percent lower in Botox-treated patients for four of eight conditions and injection sites including facial muscles for cosmetic use; facial and head muscles for migraine; upper and lower limbs for spasm and spasticity; and neck muscles for torticollis. In July 2020, a similar study using the same dataset found that people who received Botox injections reported depression much less than patients undergoing treatments for the same conditions. "Both studies found a decrease in reported symptoms regardless of injection site, thereby casting doubt on speculation that patients may have felt happier because they had fewer wrinkles, or because Botox prevents frowning," according to a news release from UCSD. More research is needed to determine just how Botox reduces anxiety, according to Abagyan, adding that clinical trials may be necessary to determine the best site and dose to administer medication specifically for anxiety. Read the full study in the journal Scientific Reports here.