Warning about a skin beauty drug
A consumer advocacy group has asked US lawmakers to tighten health warnings on Botox, a toxin used to smooth out wrinkles on the skin of millions of people.
According to Dr. Salam, quoted by Agence France-Presse, the Public Citizen group, which was founded by the former US presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, has asked the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “immediately strengthen the warnings about the use of botulinum toxin.” slow” because “serious adverse reactions, including death, have been reported in connection with this drug.”
But neither Allergen, the company that makes and sells Botox, nor the American Association of Dermatologic Surgeons believe more warnings are needed.
Botulinum toxin is a natural toxin that forms in spoiled food and is 40 million times stronger than cyanide.
When small amounts of this poison are injected into the muscle, the muscle is paralyzed and its contraction is prevented for 4 to 6 months; Such a position is ideal for temporarily removing facial wrinkles.
This toxin is sold under the trade names of Botox or Vistable (made by Allergen), Myobloc or Neuroblok made by Solstice Neurosciences and Dysoport made by Ipsen.
Public Citizen notes that ebentoxin is approved for “a limited number of therapeutic uses, including uncontrollable muscle spasms in the shoulders and neck, squinting, blinking due to muscle spasms, and excessive underarm sweating.”
The group adds: “The only approved cosmetic use of this ingredient is for the temporary smoothing of brow furrows.” Most other cosmetic uses of botulinum toxin are unapproved.”
According to this group, in some cases, this toxin: “has spread to other parts of the body and has caused serious consequences, including paralysis of the respiratory muscles and difficulties in swallowing, which can probably lead to the entry of food and liquids into the respiratory tract and lungs, and finally Pneumonia caused by it.
According to the report of this group, between 1997 and 2006, sixteen deaths were reported among 658 people who suffered serious complications from botulinum toxin injections.
In response to this request, the American Association for Dermatologic Surgery stated that it considers the current label – “For use by trained physicians only” to be sufficient.
The chief medical director of Allergen, the manufacturer of Botox, also said: “So far, more than a million people have been treated with Botox for cosmetic purposes, and there is not a single case of death that has been proven to be causally related to Botox.”
March 18, 1390 09:05
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