Energizer_Bunny
03-11-04, 10:11 PM
Botox Breakthrough
April 23, 2003 — Botox may be known as the ultimate vanity drug -but many regular users are not interested in looks. Botox injections are now being used to treat a variety of medical conditions including a neurological disorder.
Most of us now know botox injections can wipe out wrinkles, but the neurotoxin was originally approved in the United States 14 years ago to correct crossed eyes. Since then it's been used to treat everything from cerebral palsy to tourette's syndrome.
"It's been a rough ride for probably most of my life."
Josh Barnett, 29, is a computer wiz with a sharp wit and a difficult disorder. He has tourette's syndrome. It's a neurological condition characterized by ticks such as blinking, repetitive throat clearing and shoulder shrugging. Josh would also involuntarily shout, bark and yell obscenities.
"I just wanted to hide my head in a hole do nothing make it all go away," said Josh Barnett, Tourette's patient.
Josh was on huge amounts of medication to control the tics and outbursts, but they weren't working. He was a wreck. His vocal chords were being damaged, neighbors complained about his loud noises and he couldn't keep a job. His doctor --Bennett Leventhal at the University of Chicago-- decided it was time to get creative.
"One of the novel ideas was to inject one of his vocal chords to partially paralyze it so you couldn't make the sound as loudly as he was making it" said Dr. Bennett Leventhal, psychiatrist, U of C Hospitals.
That's when botox entered the treatment picture. The purified toxin has the ability to stop nerves from contracting muscles for months at a time.
"The idea is to paralyze it enough so that it gets out of spasm but it does not get totally weak," said Dr. Jacquelynne Corey, otolaryngologist, U of C Hospitals.
With the help of an imaging machine doctors deliver the botox through his neck while josh is awake.
"I literally feel his neck where the cartilage is"
He's been undergoing the botox therapy for about a year and the results are amazing.
"I tried it the first time it was a miracle."
The barking, shouting and ticks have all but stopped. About the only side effect Josh experiences on occasion is a hoarse voice.
Doctors are at a loss to explain how this really works. But one theory is that josh's inability to physically make the noises --also stops the cycle of feed back --telling the brain to keep doing whatever it is doing.
"I think we have learned a lot from this particular procedure and this particular patient that will ultimately help a lot of other patients. "
For the first time in a long time Josh feels in control of his own body. He's now focusing on getting a job as a computer consultant and he hopes his success story will bring hope to others with tourette's.
"My life …I'm hoping to get on with my life and be as normal as possible."
Botox injections last about three months. Results as promising as Josh's are encouraging other doctors across the country to try botox "off label," which means it's given to patients for purposes other than those approved by the food and drug administration.
April 23, 2003 — Botox may be known as the ultimate vanity drug -but many regular users are not interested in looks. Botox injections are now being used to treat a variety of medical conditions including a neurological disorder.
Most of us now know botox injections can wipe out wrinkles, but the neurotoxin was originally approved in the United States 14 years ago to correct crossed eyes. Since then it's been used to treat everything from cerebral palsy to tourette's syndrome.
"It's been a rough ride for probably most of my life."
Josh Barnett, 29, is a computer wiz with a sharp wit and a difficult disorder. He has tourette's syndrome. It's a neurological condition characterized by ticks such as blinking, repetitive throat clearing and shoulder shrugging. Josh would also involuntarily shout, bark and yell obscenities.
"I just wanted to hide my head in a hole do nothing make it all go away," said Josh Barnett, Tourette's patient.
Josh was on huge amounts of medication to control the tics and outbursts, but they weren't working. He was a wreck. His vocal chords were being damaged, neighbors complained about his loud noises and he couldn't keep a job. His doctor --Bennett Leventhal at the University of Chicago-- decided it was time to get creative.
"One of the novel ideas was to inject one of his vocal chords to partially paralyze it so you couldn't make the sound as loudly as he was making it" said Dr. Bennett Leventhal, psychiatrist, U of C Hospitals.
That's when botox entered the treatment picture. The purified toxin has the ability to stop nerves from contracting muscles for months at a time.
"The idea is to paralyze it enough so that it gets out of spasm but it does not get totally weak," said Dr. Jacquelynne Corey, otolaryngologist, U of C Hospitals.
With the help of an imaging machine doctors deliver the botox through his neck while josh is awake.
"I literally feel his neck where the cartilage is"
He's been undergoing the botox therapy for about a year and the results are amazing.
"I tried it the first time it was a miracle."
The barking, shouting and ticks have all but stopped. About the only side effect Josh experiences on occasion is a hoarse voice.
Doctors are at a loss to explain how this really works. But one theory is that josh's inability to physically make the noises --also stops the cycle of feed back --telling the brain to keep doing whatever it is doing.
"I think we have learned a lot from this particular procedure and this particular patient that will ultimately help a lot of other patients. "
For the first time in a long time Josh feels in control of his own body. He's now focusing on getting a job as a computer consultant and he hopes his success story will bring hope to others with tourette's.
"My life …I'm hoping to get on with my life and be as normal as possible."
Botox injections last about three months. Results as promising as Josh's are encouraging other doctors across the country to try botox "off label," which means it's given to patients for purposes other than those approved by the food and drug administration.