American Academy of Neurology Guidelines for Use of Botulinum Toxin
New guidelines developed by the American Academy of Neurology and published in the May 6 issue of Neurology, botulinum toxin (botox) may do away with the unwanted wrinkles on your brow, but it probably does nothing at all to combat migraines and chronic tension headaches.
The guidelines were developed by researchers who reviewed and analyzed all available scientific studies on botox. The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation also endorsed the guidelines.
According to the guideline author, "Based on currently available data, botulinum toxin injections should not be offered to patients with episodic migraine and chronic tension-type headaches," said Dr. Markus Naumann, head of the Department of Neurology at Augsburg Hospital in Germany. "It is no better than placebo injections for these types of headache."
From my own migraine research, including interviews with over 1,000 migraineurs, I can tell you that I have yet to find anyone who has had any long term success with using botox for migraine prevention. I am not surprised with the findings of the researchers who collected and assembled the data to produce the new guidelines.
If you have been following the migraine news during the past few months or read on this blog about the findings by the Mayo Clinic that anti-depression drugs do not work for migraine prevention, then you can come to your own conclusions about what the pharmaceutical companies may promote as helpful versus what does and does not actually work.
Personally, I believe we will see other “migraine prevention” drugs more closely studied by unbiased researchers and they may find a real difference between what is touted versus what are the actual results.
The real question is: When will doctors stop prescribing these as treatments for migraines? Perhaps the next time your doctor hands you a prescription or recommends botox, you will ask why he or she believes it will help you. Don’t be afraid to ask – after all, it is your body and your pain.
For more information on migraines, see Tuliv.com.
Copyright © 2008 Tuliv Ltd. Co. All rights reserved.
