Botox injections can relieve the pain of arthritis victims and malignant diseases without the side effects typical of traditional painkillers. Moreover, a single injection is sufficient to relieve a person of pain for several months.
The scientists from the University of Sheffield, led by Professor Bazbek Davletov, developed the drug on the basis of Botox, which could revolutionize the industry of painkillers. This medicine does not have the “chilling” effect, typical of Botox, but it provides the removal of painful symptoms for a prolonged period after only one injection.
First of all, a new analgesic drug can help the victims of chronic back pain, as well as the women who have passed through cesarean section. The injection can be effective for the patients, suffering from cancer diseases which require continuous and powerful anesthetic doses.
The key ingredient of Botox, Botulinum toxin, prevents nerve cells from transmitting messages from the brain to muscles. This immobilizes them, making the development of wrinkles impossible. Simultaneously the same toxin interrupts the transmission of pain signals back to the brain for several months. But Botox has never been actively used as a painkiller, as there have been fears that with regular use, it can permanently paralyze the area that it affects.
Bazbek Davletov and his colleagues used the Botox ability to relieve pain in a more “friendly” version of the tetanus bacteria poison. As pointed out by the scientist, he managed to create an anesthetic only based on the “good part” of toxic molecules.
Clinical studies of this drug on animals have given very encouraging results. If the experiments on humans are just as successful, the drug will appear on the market in three years.
