Those who suffer from frequent migraine attacks knows well how disabling these can be, with a 360 degree negative impact on professional and private life. Impossible (and very wrong) to suffer passively, without seek medical therapies aimed at solving the problem. Migraine is a neurological condition characterized by recurrent episodes of strong, often excruciating headaches, known as migraine attacks (symptoms vary from person to person).
Botulinum toxin, the remedy supported by an American study
In this regard, a new article published by PRS Journal (the official magazine ofAmerican Society of Plastic Surgeons), explains that the pre-operative injections of botulinum toxin they could be the key to better outcomes for chronic migraine sufferers and undergoes nerve decompression surgery. The American work found that patients who had a rpositive response to Botox injections they also saw significant improvements after surgery in migraine intensity, frequency, and duration. The truth is that, beyond the surgical operation, botulinum toxin has long since confirmed its important ability to reduce and limit (alone) migraines. This is a temporary treatment, but it is giving excellent results. We talk about it with the expert neurologist.
The neurologist’s opinion
«There is often disagreement between surgeons and neurologists on the real need for nerve decompression surgery cited by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons”, comments Dr Stefano Messina, head of the Headache Center – Neurology Unit – Auxologico San Luca. «The truth is that experience has shown us that botulinum toxin is a consolidated and safe treatment that alone can help many patients suffering from migraine, especially chronic migraine (i.e. that form of headache that occurs for at least 15 days a month for over 3 months). As many already know, botulinum toxin It also gives good results in other neurological fieldsfor example in control of hyper sweating and in other pathologies.
How does the treatment take place? After careful consultation with the specialist doctor, every 3 months the patient undergoes botulinum toxin infiltrations into the subcutaneous tissueat a frontal level and at a temporal level, involving the nape of the neck and also the shoulder area. The drug is injected in small dosages: the treatment ends in about half an hour. Every 3 months it will be enough to repeat the treatment, which allows you to relax the contracted muscles in the typical areas affected by migraine. The response is generally positive, although obviously the cases of patients with migraine are very varied and it is important to remember that the answer always remains subjective. The pathogenesis of migraine, the process by which the disease develops and progresses in the body, is also particularly complex. Experience tells us that treatment with botulinum toxin tends in the vast majority of cases to benefit people with chronic migrainesavoiding the need to resort tosurgery which – it must be said – still remains an invasive operation, with the need to incise the skin at the occipital level and to go deep. It is no coincidence that the American Headache Society advises against the operation.”
