Botox Cosmetic Treatment Services in Fairfax, VA

Researchers discovered in the 1950s that injecting overactive muscles with minute quantities of botulinum toxin type A decreased muscle activity by blocking the release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction, thereby rendering the muscle unable to contract for a period 3 to 4 months. Alan Scott, a San Francisco ophthalmologist, first applied tiny doses of the toxin in a medicinal sense to treat 'crossed eyes' (strabismus) and 'uncontrollable blinking' (blepharospasm), but needed a partner to gain regulatory approval to market his discovery as a drug. Allergan, Inc., a pharmaceutical company that focused on prescription eye therapies and contact lens products, bought the rights to the drug in 1988 and received FDA approval in 1989. Allergan renamed the drug Botox. Cosmetically desirable effects of Botox were first discovered by Vancouver-based cosmetic surgeons Drs. Alastair The serendipitous discovery occurred when the husband-and-wife team observed the softening of patients' frown lines following treatment for eye muscle disorders, leading to clinical trials and subsequent FDA approval for cosmetic use in April 2002.[citation needed] As of 2007, Botox injection is the most common cosmetic operation, with 4.6 million procedures in the United States, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Besides its cosmetic application, Botox is used in the treatment of migraine headaches cervical dystonia (spasmodic torticollis) (a neuromuscular disorder involving the head and neck)[6] blepharospasm (involuntary blinking) severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) Achalasia (failure of the lower esophageal sphincter to relax) Other uses of botulinum toxin type A that are widely known but not specifically approved by FDA include treatment of: pediatric incontinence, incontinence due to overactive bladder, and incontinence due to neurogenic bladder. anal fissure spastic disorders associated with injury or disease of the central nervous system including trauma, stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, or cerebral palsy focal dystonias affecting the limbs, face, jaw, or vocal cords TMJ pain disorders

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