According to a study published in the January issue of Anesthesia and Analgesia, the official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (RAP), the Botox (botulinum toxin type A) was unexpected “systemic” effects on muscles other than those it is injected.
The researchers demonstrated in experiments with rats that the lasting effect of Botox injections also occurs in muscles distant from the injection site, and it seems to cause a unique effect on the responses of muscle to a muscle relaxant commonly used, which could affect the monitoring of a patient during surgery or mechanical ventilation.
Head of Research Dr. Christiane G. Frick Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and his team examined the immediate, delayed local and remote effects of Botox injections by conducting various experiments.
Botox is most famous for its use in cosmetic procedures, is also used to treat neuromuscular disorders. It works by interrupting signals between nerves and muscle tissue and causes a temporary paralysis of injected muscles. It could be the facial muscles that cause wrinkles or spastic muscles in patients with cerebral palsy.
In the study, rats injected Frick with a single injection of Botox into the tibial muscle of the back leg. As expected, the researchers noted that the injected muscle was completely paralyzed after four days, however, Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle they found that the tibial muscle of the back leg also showed other responses to lower contraction to electrical stimulation, although no substantial effect on muscle function was observed.
A sixteen days, the researchers found that Botox injected muscle still showed decreased function, the responses to contraction, and muscle tension and stress responses and muscle contraction in the non-injected tibialis muscle also remained significantly lower, although to a lesser extent. The result indicates that Botox also causes lasting changes in the “distant” the muscles in addition to the temporary paralysis of injected muscles.
The results also revealed changes in the responses to drugs atracurium muscle relaxation, which could lead to important clinical implications, given that atracurium is commonly administered to patients undergoing surgery or mechanical ventilation to relax muscles. Researchers found that, in particular the muscles injected with Botox showed a unique sensitivity than atracurium. These effects lasted longer than 16 days.
Clinicians usually monitor the responses muscle contraction to assess the efficacy of atracurium relaxing the muscles. According to new results, recent Botox injections, whether administered for cosmetic or neuromuscular disorders, may potentially affect the monitoring of patients during surgery. This was demonstrated in a recently reported case in which an anesthetist with answers to contraction in the forehead to monitor the degree of atracurium block elsewhere in the body.
Dr. Steven L. Shafer of Columbia University and editor of anesthesia and analgesia explained:
“Although we knew that the Botox has lasting effects on muscle function, this study suggests that these effects muscle can be seen quite far injected muscles. If you are a patient undergoing surgery who had a recent Botox injection, it might be a good idea to tell your anesthesiologist. “
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