Dr. Eric Finzi and his team from Chevy Chase Cosmetic Center in Maryland report that Botox may work as a treatment for depression because it physically prevents a person from frowning, which can trigger negative emotions and depressions. Their research involved 84 subjects with severe depression that did not respond well to antidepressants. These patients were split into two groups and half were injected with Botox, while the other half were injected with a placebo.
In follow-up visits, 27% of the group that received the Botox stated they had an absence of depression, compared with only 7% of the placebo group. This still needs to be studied more to determine if Botox triggers a biological affect, such as a change in the immune system (which is affected by depression) or whether the change is more psychological, but still the research is interesting!
