Injecting
Botox into the arm muscles of stroke survivors who suffer from severe
spasticity may assist with longer-term recovery.
Injecting botulinum toxin (botox)
into the arm muscles of stroke survivors who suffer from severe spasticity may
assist with longer-term recovery, according to new research.
Researchers at Neuroscience
Research Australia (NeuRA) monitored nerve activity in the arms and brains of
stroke survivors before and after botox injections in rigid and stiff muscles
in the arm.
They found that botox not only
improved arm muscles, but also altered brain activity in the cortex – the brain
region responsible for movement, memory, learning, and thinking.
“Botulinum toxin is used to treat
a range of muscular and neurological conditions and our data shows that this
treatment results in electrical and functional changes within the brain itself,”
said Dr. William Huynh, lead author of the study and a research neurologist at
NeuRA.
Huynh said that the effect botox
has on the brain may arise because the toxin travels to the central nervous
system directly, or because muscles treated with botox are sending different
signals back to the brain.
“Either way, we found that botox
treatment in affected muscles not only improves muscle disorders in stroke
patients, but also normalizes electrical activity in the brain, particularly in
the half of the brain not damaged by stroke,” he explained.
“Restoring normal activity in the
unaffected side of the brain is particularly important because we suspect that
abnormal information sent from affected muscles to the brain may be disrupting
patients’ long-term recovery,” he said..
The article can be found
at: Huynh W et al. (2012) Botulinum
toxin modulates cortical maladaptation in post-stroke spasticity.
Source: NeuRA;
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