It’s possible that in order to feel better you just have to put on your smiley face?
Does smiling make you happy, or frowning make us sad? That’s what a new clinical trials using injections to control the ability of you to furrow your brow.
Botox Medical, based on preliminary studies, is evaluating actually a calm relaxed face, one that doesn’t frown a lot, and one that does smile can contribute to your whole health.
The studies are still going on Clintrial.gov listing of a Phase 4 Botox study for depression in women https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01556971 and https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02116361 These studies are comparing Botox 50u, to 30 u, to saline in ‘specific’ areas.
Depression has many facets and you and your primary care provider need to discuss whether there is a need for treatment and what sort of treatment. So clearly Botox is not going to be a therapy given in isolation. In some of the early studies there was effectiveness for treatment of major depression at 6 weeks, but not 2 weeks, and the exact dosing and places to inject for each person haven’t been exactly worked out. Botox does take about 2 weeks for full effect. There are some older articles, and in 5 studies enrolling 194 patients there was also an effect.
In newest studies of food cravings, which precede dysfunctional eating, including binge and overeating, facial expressions shows that frowning by knitting the brow together predisposes eat more; and smiling reduces cravings and encourages better food choices. Again, these are some of the muscle changes that using Botox can induce!
At Hada Cosmetic Medicine and Women’s Health Practice we encourage a full consultation to know what the indications are for your Botox injections, for the treatment of depression, and the healthiest eating behaviors. It is interesting to understand the wide scope of our moods and behaviors and how all our health related treatments are inter-connected!
