Botox helps in recovery of stroke patients

Injecting botox into the arm muscles of stroke  survivors may help in their long-term recovery, according to an Australian research.

Researchers at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) here monitored nerve activity in the arms and brains of stroke survivors before and after botulinum toxin (botox) injections in rigid and stiff muscles in the arm.

They found that botox indeed improved arm muscles but also altered  brain activity in the cortex – the brain region responsible for  movement,  memory,  learning and thinking, the journal Muscle and Nerve reports.

“Botulinum toxin is used to treat a range of muscular and neurological conditions and our data shows that this treatment results in electrical and functional changes within the brain itself,” says  William Huynh, research neurologist at NeuRA, who led the study.

“This effect of botox on the brain may arise because the toxin travels to the central nervous system directly or because muscles treated with botox are sending different signals back to the brain, says Huynh.

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Source:  IANS on January 8, 2013 at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Botox-helps-in-recovery-of-stroke-patients/articleshow/17939867.cms