Warren B. Seiler III, MD
John Di Saia, MD
Beatriz H. Porras, MD
Shervin Naderi, MD, FACS
Edward Zimmerman MD
Paula Di Marco Young, BS RN
Seth A. Yellin, MD FACS
Dr. Kevin D. Light
Stephen Weber MD PhD
Brian K. Sidella
Sabine Zenker, MD
Daniel Kaufman MD
Brian Howard MD FACS
Mickey A. Couvertier
Lila Bratani MD
Alex Denes MD FACP
3 CommentsBotox Can Help Patients With Depression?
A trial carried out by Dr. Eric Finzi and Dr. Erika Wasserman found that treating clinically depressed patients with botox on the frown lines of their faces actually got rid of their depression.
Published in the journal Dermatologic Surgery, the researchers indicate that major depression is a common and serious disease. Major depression is sometime resistant to drug therapy and psychotherapeutic treatment approaches. In this trial, the researchers wanted to evaluate how effective Botulinim Toxin A treatment of glabellar frown lines might be for patients with major depression. They used a small open pilot trial.
They selected ten patients who had ongoing major depression despite drug and psychotherapeutic treatment. They were evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) before receiving botox treatment on their frown lines.
Two months after the botox treatment, all ten patients were re-evaluated clinically and with the BDI-II.
Nine patients were no longer depressed two months after botox treatment on their frown lines. One patient experienced no improvement in mood.
The researchers concluded that botox treatment on frown lines may be an effective treatment for patients with major depression who have not responded to routine pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic treatment approaches.
Dr. Finzi has applied for a patent for this treatment for depression.
Link to Abstract in Dermatologic Surgery Journal
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Reader Comments (3)
That's really good.
I would like to know how Dr. Finzi can conclude anything from a study with 10 patients and 2 months long. It was not even a double blind study. He just wants to be able to give his "depressed" patients Botox and have insurance pay for it.
We would have just about everyone claiming to be "depressed" so that they can get insurance to pay for their Botox.
Again, this is a crappy study done by one individual that wants his name on a patent. It is garbage science. I wonder if Allergan paid for the study?
These are the types of studies that laser companies do to sell crappy systems. We all need to learn to look at these studies closer.
Good rules of thumb:
1. The number of patients in the study needs to be large enough to make valid statistical conclusions.
2. Studies should be in high quality peer reviewed journals
3. White papers from manufacturers do not count - they have not been peer reviewed in most cases and will never be published.
4. Look at who sponsored (paid for) the research - many of the people that you will see speaking at many conferences are bought and paid for by technology companies. They will never release a study if it does not show a medication or technology in a good light.
5. Look at the Author(s) - do they have a vested interest in the technology i.e. will they make money off of the product ?
6. The study should preferentially be a double blind study - as we know it can be difficult to do this especially with technologies. They should always have a control group which is lacking in the above study.
7. Is the study to broad? Some studies try to answer too many questions and are not large enough to do it.
Maybe they're happier because they no longer have disfiguring frown lines?