Botox isn't just for wrinkles anymore

(New York-WABC, 2007) (WABC) -- Botox isn't just for helping get rid of wrinkles.

There is a new use for it. Dr. Jay Adlersberg has more.

If Botox can paralyze the muscles that cause wrinkles, how about using it for tight muscles in other places? That's what some doctors are doing to help patients with cerebral palsy and strokes. Botox is helping children and adults alike.

Nine-year-old Andrew Carter is not afraid to fall. And he refuses to let cerebral palsy get the best of him.

When Andrew would try to move, his muscles would fight him, jerking him around. It's a condition called spasticity. Botox injections help calm his muscles.

"I mean, it hurts, but I really do think it helps, because it loosens me up," he said.

Botulism toxin is what causes food poisoning. But in these patients, it's targeted to specific muscles.

By relaxing muscles, Botox is also helping stroke patients like Ginger Hinshaw.

She could barely move after her stroke.

"My left hand, if it's not in a splint, my fingers will just be in a not," she said.

Today, she's able to write about what's happened to her.

"I have a lot of exercises and stretches to do at home to get me ready for my next phase of recovery," she said.

Dr. Allison Brashear says there's no risk and patients can take it again and again.

"The beauty of the drug is that it stays where you put it," she said. "So you put the Botox in the arm, and it just stays there.

Botox is now giving patients like Ginger and Andrew control of their arms, their legs and their lives.

Botox is also being used to help multiple sclerosis patients patients with traumatic brian injuries. Injections are repeated every four to six months.

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