Botox Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Botox, including details on cosmetic botox, side-effects, alternatives, treatment.

Chirality holds the key for potent inhibition of the botulinum neurotoxin serotype a protease.

Stowe GN, Silhár P, Hixon MS, Silvaggi NR, Allen KN, Moe ST, Jacobson AR, Barbieri JT, Janda KD

Department of Chemistry, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology and Worm Institute of Research and Medicine (WIRM), The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.

Botulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT/A) is the most toxic protein known to man and also a bioterrorism agent. As defined by our previous research targeting the etiological agent responsible for BoNT/A intoxication, a protease, we now report on the asymmetric synthesis of four new BoNT/A inhibitors; the most potent of this series is roughly 2-fold more active than the best small molecule inhibitor currently known.

Published 12 February 2010 in Org Lett, 12(4): 756-9.
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Articles on Botox published 8 February 2010:

Ultrasonographic guided botulinum toxin type A treatment for plantar fasciitis: an outcome-based investigation for treating pain and gait changes.   J Rehabil Med, 42(2): 136-40.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of ultrasonographic guided botulinum toxin type A injections into the plantar fascia to reduce pain and improve gait in patients with unilateral plantar fasciitis. DESIGN: A randomized double-blind control study. SUBJECTS: Fifty patients with chronic unilateral plantar fasciitis were recruited, and divided into experimental and control groups. METHODS: Subjects in the experimental group were injected with 50 units botulinum toxin type A, reconstituted ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Botox published 29 January 2010:

Goal attainment scaling in the evaluation of treatment of upper limb spasticity with botulinum toxin: a secondary analysis from a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial.   J Rehabil Med, 42(1): 81-9.

OBJECTIVE: To examine goal attainment scaling for evaluation of treatment for upper limb post-stroke spasticity with botulinum toxin-A. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a multi-centre double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. SETTING: Six outpatient clinics in Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Patients (n=90) completing per protocol 2 cycles of treatment/placebo. Mean age 54.5 (standard deviation 13.2) years. Mean time since stroke 5.9 (standard deviation 10.5) years. INTERVENTIONS: ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Botox published 28 January 2010:

Prospective randomized evaluation of periureteral botulinum toxin type A injection for ureteral stent pain reduction.   J Urol, 183(2): 598-602.

PURPOSE: The use of ureteral stents for ureteral obstruction and after ureteroscopy can result in substantial deterioration in patient quality of life due to pain, frequency and urgency. We postulated that many stent related symptoms may be related to detrusor muscle spasm in and around the intramural ureter, and evaluated the effect of botulinum toxin type A (Botox) in patients with indwelling stents after ureteroscopy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 51 patients between December 2007 and ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Botox published 26 January 2010:

Practice parameter: pharmacologic treatment of spasticity in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (an evidence-based review): report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the Practice Committee of the Child Neurology Society.   Neurology, 74(4): 336-43.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate published evidence of efficacy and safety of pharmacologic treatments for childhood spasticity due to cerebral palsy. METHODS: A multidisciplinary panel systematically reviewed relevant literature from 1966 to July 2008. RESULTS: For localized/segmental spasticity, botulinum toxin type A is established as an effective treatment to reduce spasticity in the upper and lower extremities. There is conflicting evidence regarding functional improvement. Botulinum toxin type A ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Botox published 25 January 2010:

Efficient serum clearance of botulinum neurotoxin achieved using a pool of small antitoxin binding agents.   Infect Immun, 78(2): 756-63.

Antitoxins for botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) and other toxins are needed that can be produced economically with improved safety and shelf-life properties compared to conventional therapeutics with large-animal antisera. Here we show that protection from BoNT lethality and rapid BoNT clearance through the liver can be elicited in mice by administration of a pool of epitope-tagged small protein binding agents together with a single anti-tag monoclonal antibody (MAb). The protein binding agents ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Botox published 21 January 2010:

Treatment of a painful keloid with botulinum toxin type A.   Am J Phys Med Rehabil, 89(2): 153-5.

Keloids are associated with small-fiber neuropathy and typically present with itching, pain, and allodynia. The following is a case presentation in which painful neuropathic symptoms from a keloid were treated successfully with botulinum toxin type A. To our knowledge, this is the first such case report in the literature. Further research in the use of botulinum toxin to treat keloidal pain is warranted. [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Botox published 22 December 2009:

Effect of botulinum toxin injection on nocturnal bruxism: a randomized controlled trial.   Am J Phys Med Rehabil, 89(1): 16-23.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of botulinum toxin type A on nocturnal bruxism. DESIGN: Twelve subjects reporting nocturnal bruxism were recruited for a double-blind, randomized clinical trial. Six bruxers were injected with botulinum toxin in both masseters, and six with saline. Nocturnal electromyographic activity was recorded in the subject's natural sleeping environment from masseter and temporalis muscles before injection, and 4, 8, and 12 wks after injection and then used to calculate ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Botox published 16 December 2009:

Muscle weakness after repeated injection of botulinum toxin type A evaluated according to bite force measurement of human masseter muscle.   Dermatol Surg, 35(12): 1902-6.

BACKGROUND: Botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) has been applied successfully to treat masseteric hypertrophy, but it can cause muscle weakness. OBJECTIVE: To measure the change in maximum bite force (MBF) after BTX-A injection into the human masseter muscle and to evaluate the influence of a booster (repeated) injection. METHODS: Thirty volunteers completed 18-week follow-up, and MBF was measured. At 18 weeks after the first injection, a booster injection was given to 14 patients, and they were ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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