Celebrities, news anchors, the wealthy of Hollywood and the media have been using the anti-aging treatment Botox to seem years younger for years. Those in the celebrity world who utilize this treatment claim their wrinkles vanish overnight.
As the public becomes more familiar with Botox injections, scientists continue to be amazed by the drug’s versatility. A study published just a few months ago suggested that Botox injections could help alleviate sadness (because who doesn’t feel better when they look better?).
Major progress may have been made, as a new study published by a group including researchers from Columbia University suggests that Botox may inhibit the formation of cancer tumors in mice.
Botox and its rival, Dysport, are neurotoxins that prevent the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscles (making wrinkles go away). According to the results of this study, some of the same qualities that help us look better may also prevent the transmission of signals in the nervous system that promotes tumor growth. Researchers have high hopes that combining this treatment with others would eventually stymie or even reverse cancer’s progression.
Researchers from the Columbia University Medical Center and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim studied the correlation between nerve functioning and tumor development. Although stomach cancer was the main focus of the study, the researchers believe their findings have far-reaching implications.