A recent Newsweek article, entitled "A New Reason To Frown", calls into question the safety of Botox treatments. It reports the results of an Italian study, published earlier this month in the Journal of Neuroscience, in which rats' whiskers were injected with botulinum toxin. However, what is not pointed out in the Newsweek article is that this single study in rats is inconsistent with nearly twenty years of thorough research into Botox that shows it to be safe. Furthermore, the rat study didn't even use Botox and the study methods are unproven. The Newsweek article also references the Public Citizen petition about Botox, which I have written about in earlier sections of this blog.

Botox is FDA-approved for the treatment of frown lines, as well as for numerous debilitating medical conditions for which it relieves significant suffering. As I've written before, it is vital that any cosmetic treatments should be stringently tested for safety. It's reassuring to note that Botox is one of the most extensively studied medications, and research continues to this day.

The flaws in the rat study have been pointed out in several comments about the Newsweek article. One of these comments is evidently from a dermatologist, who writes: "This is a classic case of bad science and irresponsible reporting." This has been met with the response from another reader: "I assume you make money off of botox. Only one who has money to gain would defend the crap".

Though it saddens me to see a fellow professional characterized as unethical simply for giving his or her medical opinion of a research study, I appreciate that some members of the public may suspect the motives of doctors who defend the treatments they use to treat their patients. I'd like to point out a couple of facts in this regard.

First, no cosmetic surgeons have a vested interest in continuing to treat their patients with Botox unless they truly feel it's safe. We all have numerous other methods of skin rejuvenation at our disposal. If Botox were not available to my patients, I expect that they would simply opt to have more laser surgery, chemical peels and filler injections. So the argument that a doctor who uses Botox has money to gain by pointing out the flaws in this study is invalid. Second, the vast majority of cosmetic surgeons who treat their patients with Botox have had the treatment themselves, and have treated their family members with it too. This reflects their confidence in the safety of Botox. In contrast, think of tobacco company executives, who marketed a dangerous product (cigarettes) to consumers while blatantly abstaining from smoking

themselves.

If you've read the Newsweek article, or any other media coverage of the Italian rat study, here are four facts you might like to know about it.

1.     The study didn't use Botox

The study used a laboratory-made research grade botulinum toxin, which is significantly different to Botox and is not suitable for human use. Conclusions about Botox cannot be drawn from this single rat study that did not use Botox.