February 21, 2002. Copyright 2002. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

Miracle treatment to stay Òforever youngÓ

LONDON, February 21, Graphic News: A new lifestyle drug is about to be approved for beauty treatments. It canÕt stop the ageing process, but it can Òturn back the clock,Ó for a while at least. Now,Êalong with facelifts, cellulite reduction, breast enlargement, liposuction and tummy tuck, there is Botox -- a treatment to get rid of wrinkles.

CrowÕs feet, worry lines and wrinkles are caused by contractions of the delicate, underlying facial muscles every time you smile, laugh or frown.ÊThe more emotion you show, the deeper these wrinkles and lines are likely to be. 

Now, injections that use botulinum toxin -- Botox for short -- to paralyse facial muscles is about to get its first official seal of approval from AmericaÕs Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a safe way to get rid of those unflattering creases. 

Approval, expected in March, will enable Californian pharmaceutical company Allergan to advertise its cosmetic benefits direct to doctors and consumers in America. FDA approval could turn Botox into a billion-dollar lifestyle drug to rival PfizerÕs erectile dysfunction treatment, Viagra, and AstraZenicaÕs Prilosec ulcer drug.

Botox is a nerve agent derived from the bacterium, Clostridium Botulinum, also known as Botulinum Toxin Type A. The drug has been used for over a decade for the treatment of dystonia -- abnormal muscle rigidity which causes painful muscle spasms -- which results in unusually fixed postures or twitching movements.

When injected in highly diluted form, Botox relaxes the muscle movements that cause twitches as well as those wrinkles. After treatment, the overlying skin remains smooth and unwrinkled while the unrelated facial muscles contract in a normal fashion, allowing facial expression to be unaffected. 

Normally the brain sends electrical messages to muscles so that they can contract and move. The electrical message is transmitted from the nerve endings to the muscle by a chemical called acetylcholine. Botox works by blocking the release of acetylcholine at these neuromuscular junctions and, as a result, the muscle doesnÕt receive the message to contract: no more distressing worry lines or wrinkles.

At around $400 for a vial of the drug and up to $1,600 in treatment fees the injections are not cheap. Nor is the treatment permanent. While Botox injections produce results within hours, they wear off within three to four months, requiring another visit to the clinic. 

Already used without FDA approval, Botox smoothed more than one million celebrity faces last year. The most requested areas of treatment are the forehead and outer eye area. One to three injections are usually given per muscle. Care must be taken in restricting the amount of muscle movements in the treatment area while it Òsettles in.Ó Maximum effect is reached in one to two weeks.

Once the cosmetic treatment gains approval it is expected to become the fastest-growing, most popular beauty treatment in the United States. Analysts estimate that AllerganÕs annual sales of Botox, worth $310m last year, could reach $1 billion -- the level at which a drug is considered a blockbuster -- by 2006. 

But, with up to four treatments a year required to keep you looking Òforever young,Ó you may also need to stay Òforever rich.Ó

/ENDS

Sources: Allergan, The Economist