Study compares 2 types of botulinum toxin for cosmetic use
2011-06-21
(Press-News.org) Not all varieties of botulinum toxin seem to be equally effective in reducing crow's feet wrinkles, according to a report published Online First today by Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Botulinum toxin, a protein long considered harmful, is now known as a neuromodulator (a chemical that affects nerve impulses) that has cosmetic and medical uses, according to background information in the article. In 1989, botulinum toxin type A was approved in the United States for two muscular conditions that affect the appearance of the eyes. In 2002, one type—onabotulinumtoxinA—was approved for the treatment of wrinkles between the eyebrows; a second type, abobotulinumtoxinA, received approval for the same indication in 2009. The authors sought to compare both types of the protein, head to head. "Such an assessment could characterize and contrast their efficacy in clinical performance in the treatment of hyperfunctional lines and muscular relaxation," the authors write.
Kartik D. Nettar, M.D., from The Maas Clinic, San Francisco, and the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues conducted a randomized, double-blind split-face study, using one agent on the right side and the other agent on the left side. "By using a split-face (internally controlled) paradigm, this would provide direct comparison of each product in the same patient," they explain. Ninety patients received injections of onabotulinumtoxinA and of abobotulinumtoxinA on either side of their faces; the lateral orbital rhytids, or "crow's feet" wrinkles, were the site treated. Investigators assessed the site's appearance using a five-point scale, and patients were also surveyed for their opinions.
According to the researchers, the difference between the two agents was significant when participants contracted the muscles as much as possible, with abobotulinumtoxinA producing a greater effect. This difference persisted in both investigators' and patients' assessments. Approximately two-thirds of participants said they favored the side of their faces that was treated with abobotulinumtoxinA.
The authors remark that the study's results, while favorable to abobotulinumtoxinA, are limited in their scope. No statistical significance between the two agents was seen when the muscles were at rest. The researchers call for further comparative studies in other facial muscles, as well as of why one agent would perform better than the other. "Ongoing studies will determine whether the demonstrated patient preference and early advantage in clinical outcomes is persistent," they write, "as both the efficacy in line effacement and duration of effect are both important factors in patient and physician decision-making as it related to the use of neuromodulators."
###
(Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2011;doi:10.1001/archfacial/2011.37. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org.)
Editor's Note: Funding for this study was solicited from both Medicis Aesthetics Inc and Allergan Inc. Medicis Aesthetics Inc funded this study. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
To contact corresponding author Corey S. Maas, M.D., call Elizabeth Fernandez at 415-502-6397 or e-mail efernandez@pubaff.ucsf.edu.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-06-21
A newly constructed, 2,000-year history of sea level elevations will help scientists refine the models used to predict climate-change-induced sea level rise, according to an international team of climate researchers. The record also shows that the past century had the fastest recorded rate of sea level rise.
"One of the largest uncertainties in projecting the impacts of climate change involve predicting the amount and rate of future sea level rise," said Michael E. Mann, professor of meteorology, Penn State. "The societal ramifications are as great as any climate change ...
2011-06-21
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed a novel method of disguising nanoparticles as red blood cells, which will enable them to evade the body's immune system and deliver cancer-fighting drugs straight to a tumor. Their research will be published next week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The method involves collecting the membrane from a red blood cell and wrapping it like a powerful camouflaging cloak around a biodegradable polymer nanoparticle stuffed with a cocktail of small molecule ...
2011-06-21
A surprising finding in a study comparing hepatitis C virus (HCV) with hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections in chimpanzees by a team that includes scientists from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute sheds new light on the nature of the body's immune response to these viruses.
Understanding how hepatitis C becomes chronic is very important because some 200 million people worldwide and 3.2 million people in the U.S. are chronically infected with HCV and are at risk for progression to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Hepatitis C associated liver disease is the most common ...
2011-06-21
LOS ANGELES—(June 20, 2011)—Doctors warned of a potential public health epidemic in a recent report on patients in Los Angeles and New York who developed serious skin reactions after smoking or snorting cocaine believed to be contaminated with a veterinary medication drug dealers are using to dilute, or "cut," up to 70% of the cocaine in the U.S.
The report, published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, said six patients developed purple-colored patches of necrotic skin on their ears, nose, cheeks and other parts of their body and, in some instances, ...
2011-06-21
Solartex Sun Gear, Inc., a leader in sun protective clothing in the United States, is introducing its newest line that provides the maximum (50+) SPF/UPF in sun protection. Designed in Australia, these colorful rash shirts, swimsuits and hats come in a full range of sizes from 0 to 8xl, offering something for everyone from the newborn to the plus-sized adult.
Since its founding in 1998, Solartex has specialized in locating, importing, manufacturing, and retailing sun protective UV clothing to U.S. and international consumers. It is now designing and manufacturing private ...
2011-06-21
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 20, 2011 -- After more than 100 years following its pathologic description, the cause of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains unknown. To test the validity of present and future proposals related to the probable cause of AD, three postulates, or necessary conditions, are recommended by Jack de la Torre, MD, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas, Austin, in an article published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
"Knowing what causes AD is critically important because it would allow more effective therapy to specifically ...
2011-06-21
Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered that a gene linked to dyslexia has a surprising biological function: it controls cilia, the antenna-like projections that cells use to communicate.
Dyslexia is largely hereditary and linked to a number of genes, the functions of which are, however, largely unknown. This present study from Karolinska Institutet and Helsinki University now shows that one of these genes, DCDC2, is involved in regulating the signalling of cilia in brain neurons.
"Our discovery presents us with a possible new neurobiological ...
2011-06-21
New research from the University of Warwick and the IZA Institute in Bonn shows that 10% of middle-aged Europeans took antidepressants in 2010. The researchers looked in detail at the lives of a randomly selected sample of nearly 30,000 Europeans. The study covered 27 countries.
Andrew Oswald, an economics professor at the University of Warwick, and co-author of the study, described the results as concerning, he said: "Antidepressants are a relatively new kind of commodity. We are only starting to get proper data on who takes them. But as we live in the richest and safest ...
2011-06-21
Although sex and infidelity are now only a keyboard away, at the end of the day, there is no substitute for physical, face-to-face contact in our sexual relationships. That's according to a new study by Diane Kholos Wysocki, from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and Cheryl Childers, from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. They investigated the behaviors of infidelity on the internet and sexting - sending sexually explicit text messages and photographs via email or cell phone. Their findings are published online in Springer's journal, Sexuality & Culture.
The ...
2011-06-21
Financial services firms rely on the Financial Information eXchange (FIX) protocol to drive the real-time electronic exchange of securities transactions. However, the special message format and rigid nature of the FIX protocol mean it often interoperates poorly with non-FIX applications. The combination of the WSO2 Enterprise Service Bus (WSO2 ESB) and FIX protocol support provides a powerful solution for seamlessly integrating FIX applications and the heterogeneous systems supporting a financial firm's operations.
IT architects and developers can learn how to optimize ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Study compares 2 types of botulinum toxin for cosmetic use
