The proposition seems far fetched, but a private dermatologist conducted his own small, uncontrolled study and concluded that Botox may be a potential treatment for depression. The article was published in Dermatologic Surgery in May, 2006. Eric Finzi, MD, PhD conducted the study with 10 women he recruited from his private practice. Using the self-reported depression survey, Beck Depression Inventory-II, all women met the criteria for ongoing major depression. Women were injected along the glabellar frown lines (on the forehead, between the eyebrows) with botulinum toxin A, a total of five times to prevent frowning. After two months the women were administered the same depression survey. The results showed that 9 of the ten women no longer met the criteria for depression while the other woman had some improvement.
Dr. Fizi explained to WebMD, "I think there is direct feedback between the facial frown muscles and the depression center of the brain. If you can prevent the negative signals that occur when someone frowns, the brain interprets this as meaning that things are better." One woman reported that she did not notice a dramatic change in her cosmetic appearance, but just felt more motivation to exercise and spend time with friends.
The findings are controversial, with an accompanying commentary published in the journal citing flaws in the study design, including small number of subjects, brief follow-up time and no control group. However, as this was meant only to be a small pilot study, the author suggests there is potential for a larger follow-up study based on the encouraging results. Botox has been studied for other uses besides cosmetic utilization, such as tardive dyskinesia, migraines and hyperhidrosis (excess sweating).
Posted by Dr. Jennifer Stagg on October 1, 2006 02:47 PM
