Botox wins US nod to treat leaky bladder

The Irvine, California-based company’s so-called wonder drug is already winning hearts fixing wrinkled foreheads and saggy skin leaving the face taut and young. It is also approved of few such health conditions as muscle spasms, severe underarm sweating, migraine and eyelid twitching.

Botox for loss of bladder control
On Wednesday, the US FDA approved the face-freezing pharmaceutical jab for another medical purpose- to treat a leaky bladder in certain patients.

According to the US health watchdog, Botox can now prove efficient in treating bladder leakage caused from various neorological conditions like multiple sclerosis and injuries in the spinal cord.

These conditions cause nerve damage that makes urine retention difficult for patients. Patients with neurological problems may be administered with medications to help their bladder relax and catheters to drain it.

"Urinary incontinence associated with neurologic conditions can be difficult to manage," CBS News quoted George Benson, deputy director of the FDA's dvision of reproductive and urologic products, as saying. "Botox offers another treatment option for these patients."

"We are proud to bring the seventh medical use of Botox in the United States to market,” said Scott Whitcup, MD, Allergan's executive vice president of research and development and its chief scientific officer, in a company press release. “Botox is the first neurotoxin to undergo formal clinical evaluation and receive FDA approval for a urological indication."

How Botox treats leaky bladder?
The Botox treatment for loss of bladder control involves insertion of the drug into the bladder during cystoscopy, a medical procedure that lets a doctor examine the interior lining of the bladder.

Botox injections work by relaxing the muscles and allowing more urine to be stored in the bladder. The new method also curbs urinary incontinence, in which urine leaks from the bladder.

The Botox treatment conducted on nearly 700 patients in two clinical trials proved efficient for resolving leaky bladder problems.

In the trials, the wrinkle-erasing drug decreased the episodes of urinary leakage per week for a period of nine months.

“Botox now offers a new, long-lasting treatment option to reduce urinary incontinence episodes and address a particularly burdensome issue in this patient population,” said Victor Nitti, MD, Vice-chairman of the department of urology, New York University Langone Medical Center, who was involved in the Botox clinical trial program.

However the trials also showed instances of Botox treatment showing some side effects like urinary tract infections and inability to urinate.