FDA: Children Treated With Botox Died

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — The popular anti-wrinkle drug Botox and a competitor Myobloc have been linked to some deaths and other severe side effects suggestive of botulism, the government warned doctors Friday.

The drugs use botulinum toxin, which blocks nerve impulses to muscles, causing them to relax.

But in rare cases, the toxin may have spread beyond the injection site to other parts of the body, resulting in such problems as paralysis of respiratory muscles and difficulty swallowing, the Food and Drug Administration said.

The FDA said the deaths were all among child patients, mostly those with cerebral palsy treated for limb spasms, a condition the FDA has never formally approved for the drugs' use in this country although other countries have.

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iPIcKUvnY5taSrr2y_KWPTml4gSAD8UM9RO80

[Xithras]

1. I remember when Botox was first announced.

I thought to myself: "They want to inject BOTULISM into a person? Tha't CAN'T be a good idea."

Looks like I was right. Do a Google Image search for "botulism" if you want to see what this disease can do. It's nasty.

[FloridaJudy]

2. Right

Excuse me? You want to take a syringe filled with the world's deadliest poison? And inject it into my face? Because it will get rid of wrinkles? And you want me to pay for this?

I don't think so...

While trying to relieve the spasms of cerebral palsy strikes me as a nobler goal than catering to some adult's vanity, someone should have done a hell of a lot more research before trying this. We've known for quite some time that kids were are more susceptible to the botulism toxin: adults don't get botulism poisoning from honey, but infants can.

I do believe that it's the toxin they inject, not the actual organism that produces it, but it still sounds like a Really Bad Idea to me as well.

[Cleita]

3. I had the same thought.

Don't people get the tox in botox is for toxin? I'll live with my wrinkles, thank you, and injecting something that iffy in children is certainly irresponsible and well, stupid, IMHO.

[Javaman]

4. Ugh!! botox was first used years ago for spastic colon disorder..

it's only recently it's been used in the vanity industry.

More than likely it's been used in various cerebral palsy cases for years.

[enlightenment]

5. They used it off label, on sick children, and in greater

concentrations than they use for vanity treatments and there were fatal consequences.

Wow. What a huge freakin' surprise.

They cite 180 cases of severe side effects - I'd like to see that as a percentage of the total number of people receiving the injections, rather than just a figure standing alone. Poor journalism.

[flamingyouth]

6. My neurologist has offered this to me as a migraine treatment.

I've always been leery of it.

How sad for these kids and their families. :(

[mattfromnossa]

7. This is so sad.

My heart goes out to the family of these children.

[hedgetrimmer]

8. that's how they keep health care costs down

dead patients don't cost anything to treat.

[Quantess]

9. There are medical uses for Botox besides anti-wrinkle.

Botox is not only for vanity. It can be injected into a spasmic muscle to make it relax. There is a voice disorder that is cured by Botox.

[jwirr]

10. Yes, I hesitate telling about my experience but here goes. My

severely disabled adult daughter has her right are atrophied and we used Botox one time only to jump start range of motion. It helped relax her muscles enough so that we could make progress. She now opens the hand by herself. However, when the doctors wanted to do it again I said no because we were already making progress and I was afraid it would hurt her.