Botox is a very well-characterized pure, safe, protein product that when injected into muscle reduces transmission of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction. It thereby relaxes the same muscle – for up to months at a time. It’s that simple.
Unfortunately, Botox is often recognized by the general public as a rather frivolous product whose sole use is to remove wrinkles.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Botox has been FDA-approved for over 25 years for many serious conditions including blepharospasm (involuntary spasm of the muscles around the eyes) and torticollis (involuntary spasm of neck muscles), where it has proven revolutionary in improving the lives in those who suffer from these conditions.
In addition, Botox can be used for hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), hypersalivation (the drooling seen in some Parkinson patients), spasticity, and spastic bladder. The latest FDA-approved use is for chronic migraine headaches (see Neurological Conditions).
Dr. Hutchinson has over 19 years experience with Botox, and routinely injects it for headache, blepharospasm, torticollis, hypersalivation and hyperhidrosis.
At New York Core Neuroscience, we achieve an average 89% reduction in headache frequency using Botox. This result is far superior to the results of the original Allergan study, where there was an average 40% reduction. Moreover, in our hands almost half (44%) of those with daily migraines obtain complete resolution of the headaches. In almost every case where there are residual headaches, these are not only much less frequent, but also much less severe and easy to deal with using simple medications. We attribute our results to the fact that we do not use a standard template of injection sites, but individualize each patient.
