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Botox injections for smoothing wrinkles were first used in the 80s of the last century. Since then, this anti-aging procedure has gained incredible popularity. Experts in aesthetic medicine position Botox as an effective tool to combat age-related skin changes. Injections of purified and attenuated botulinum toxin have proven themselves as a “magic wand” that allows you to restore youthful smoothness to your face and forget about mimic wrinkles.
However, recently the Internet has been literally “flooded” with publications that the pursuit of beauty and eternal youth can have extremely negative consequences for health. Moreover, if it was previously stated that the main dangers of Botox injections are psychological addiction to them and the possibility of muscle atrophy, now the “couch experts” have adopted a new “horror story”. So, now visitors to aesthetic medicine clinics are being intimidated by the fact that botulinum toxin injections have a devastating effect on the brain, provoking the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and also reduce cognitive abilities and intelligence.
Botox and Alzheimer’s: Is there a link?
The reason for the allegations about the connection between “beauty shots” and dementia was a study conducted by a group of Italian scientists. It is noteworthy that it was carried out on laboratory mice, and was also short-term. Nevertheless, unscrupulous journalists hastened to seize on the “sensation” and present the intermediate data of Italian specialists as an irrefutable fact – they say, Botox destroys them by accumulating in the brain tissues as a result of beauty injections. At the same time, none of the many serious studies of medical botulinum toxin has not confirmed the connection between injections and the development of dementia.
To finally debunk this myth, it should be recalled how medical botulinum toxin “behaves” after it enters the body. For some time, it concentrates at the point of intramuscular injection, and then enters the systemic circulation. At the same time, subject to the specified dose, it is not able to overcome the blood-brain barrier, and therefore does not cause any systemic effects. Hemagglutinin and non-hemagglutinin proteins, which are part of medical botulinum toxin, are rapidly metabolized, forming simple molecular structures, after which they are excreted by the kidneys. The toxin itself interacts with the nerve endings at the injection site, as a result of which the production of the substance acetylcholine, which is responsible for transmitting a nerve impulse to the muscles, stops.
However, the human body is a self-renewing system. After some time, new fibers appear at the blocked nerve ending, as a result of which the synthesis of proteins responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses resumes. Therefore, taking into account the regenerative function of the body, it is not necessary to talk about some kind of “accumulation” of the drug in the tissues.
Botox and intelligence: do “beauty injections” make you stupid?
Another popular myth associated with botulinum toxin injections is the allegedly extremely negative effect of this drug on intellectual abilities. Critics of aesthetic medicine claim that people who have had “beauty injections” have significantly reduced mental abilities: they say they perceive oral speech and the text read worse, and also begin to suffer from a lack of imagination.
Such “experts” claim that there is some connection between mimic activity and the thought process. So, in their opinion, it is facial expressions that “activate” cognitive abilities, “start” the processing of information by the brain. The main argument in this case is the fact that most people who solve some complex problem in their mind are really actively working with their facial muscles: wrinkling their foreheads, pursing their lips, etc. Therefore, the “specialists” assure that Botox, by disrupting mimic activity, contributes to the fact that a person literally becomes stupid and cannot cope with even the simplest intellectual load.
In fact, of course, all this is speculation that has nothing to do with reality. If there really was a connection between the activity of facial muscles and intelligence, geniuses and child prodigies would have to write down monkeys who constantly grimace, and people who by nature do not differ in increased emotionality or perfectly control facial expressions would be considered fools.
Botox safety: what’s the reality?
As noted above, botulinum toxin has been used for medical purposes for almost half a century. Moreover, it is even approved for use in pediatrics – in particular, for the treatment of strabismus. It is unlikely that experts would correct a baby’s strabismus with this drug, knowing that in the future this is fraught with extremely negative consequences for the brain! Note that in pediatrics, Botox is also used to treat cerebral palsy, spastic torticollis, hyperhidrosis, migraine and a number of other diseases.
Therefore, without a doubt, the safety of botulinum toxin injections depends primarily on the quality of the drug used and the availability of the appropriate qualifications from the specialist. The main problem today is the presence on the market of a huge amount of counterfeit. In an effort to earn as much as possible with minimal costs for drugs, unscrupulous cosmetologists sometimes purchase very dubious products from distributors who sell counterfeit goods to them. Of course, such injections can cause serious complications.
Recall that the qualification of a specialist is of great importance. Insufficient experience or doubtful competence of the cosmetologist can lead to the fact that due to incorrect administration of the drug, the patient will experience facial asymmetry or ptosis of the eyelid. Therefore, you should only contact trusted professionals for botulinum toxin injections.