US approves Botox for bladder control

August 24, 2011 in Medications

The face-freezing pharmaceutical injection Botox gained another medical use on Wednesday when the US government approved it for use in some patients with overactive bladder.

The new application was given the nod by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat people with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury who suffer from and must manage it with medication or a catheter.

"Urinary incontinence associated with neurologic conditions can be difficult to manage," said George Benson, deputy director of FDA's division of Reproductive and Urologic Products.

"Botox offers another treatment option for these patients."

The new method allows a physician to inject Botox into a patient's bladder, where it relaxes the muscles and allows more urine to be stored.

Clinical studies showed such injections could decrease episodes of urinary incontinence for a period of nine months.

Botox, which is marketed by the California-based Allergan, is also approved for treatment of chronic migraines, severe underarm sweating, eyelid twitching and certain kinds of , the FDA said.

The drug is made from a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. In other forms it can cause a deadly type of food poisoning called botulism, according to the National Institutes of Health.

(c) 2011 AFP

not rated yet  

Rank not rated yet
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Acne pill benefits outweigh blood clot risk: EU agency

Europe's medicines watchdog said Friday the benefits of acne drug Diane-35, also widely used as a contraceptive, outweigh the risk of developing blood clots in the veins—when correctly prescribed.

Medications created May 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

First influenza vaccine brought to clinical testing

Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Switzerland's Cytos Biotechnology AG today announced that the first healthy volunteer has been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial with their ...

Medications created May 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Aspirin not always best treatment for many individuals

(Medical Xpress)—An aspirin a day may not always keep heart disease away, say two University of Florida cardiologists. But a new algorithm they have developed outlines factors physicians should weigh as ...

Medications created May 16, 2013 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

FDA: lower ambien's dose to prevent drowsy driving

(HealthDay)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved new, lower-dose labeling for the popular sleep drug Ambien (zolpidem) in an effort to cut down on daytime drowsiness that could be a hazard ...

Medications created May 15, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Simponi approved for ulcerative colitis

(HealthDay)—Simponi (golimumab) injection has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat adults with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis.

Medications created May 15, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Researchers identify a potential new risk for sleep apnea: Asthma

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have identified a potential new risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea: asthma. Using data from the National Institutes of Health (Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)-funded Wisconsin ...

Study finds that sleep apnea and Alzheimer's are linked

A new study looking at sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and markers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and neuroimaging adds to the growing body of research linking the two.

'Gap' for HIV vaccine efforts after latest setback

The hunt for an HIV vaccine has gobbled up $8 billion in the past decade, and the failure of the most recent efficacy trial has delivered yet another setback to 26 years of efforts.

Computational tool translates complex data into simplified 2-dimensional images

In their quest to learn more about the variability of cells between and within tissues, biomedical scientists have devised tools capable of simultaneously measuring dozens of characteristics of individual ...

New theory on genesis of osteoarthritis comes with successful therapy in mice

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have turned their view of osteoarthritis (OA) inside out. Literally. Instead of seeing the painful degenerative disease as a problem primarily of the cartilage that cushions joints, ...

Ginger compounds may be effective in treating asthma symptoms

Gourmands and foodies everywhere have long recognized ginger as a great way to add a little peppery zing to both sweet and savory dishes; now, a study from researchers at Columbia University shows purified components of the ...