Study shows botulinum toxin travelling in nerves
An animal study has shown that botulinum neurotoxin can travel via the body’s nerves back to the central nervous system on its path to the intended destination.
The study was carried out by researchers at The University of Queensland’s Brain Institute (QBI). Lead professor Frederic Meunier commented, “The discovery that some of the injected toxin can travel through our nerves is worrying, considering the extreme potency of the toxin,” he said. “However, to this day no unwanted effect attributed to such transport has been reported, suggesting that Botox® is safe to use.Finding out how this highly active toxin travels to the central nervous system is vital because this pathway is also hijacked by other pathogens such as West Nile or Rabies viruses.”
A spokesperson from multi-specialty health care company Allergan, manufacturer of Botox®, said of the findings: “This is an animal-only model study which means there is no relevance for humans. Botulinum toxin has been used in humans for therapeutic and cosmetic use for over 20 years and has shown no problems with adverse events in this area.”
