Bending the Third Rail

Because We Should, We Can, We Do

Friday, September 01, 2006

And Good For Wrinkles Too

I used to be a cognitive-behavioral therapist.

In short, I used to treat people with depression by asking them to change their thinking and behavior. This small study seems to further confirm the efficacy of this approach:

WASHINGTON (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Botox injections are a popular cosmetic tool to get rid of facial lines and wrinkles, which patients say makes them look younger. But one doctor says it can also be used to treat depression.

Rainy days used to bring Kathleen Delano down. She's suffered from depression since her 20s and says anti-depressants and therapy didn't help. "I wasn't suicidal, but I wasn't interested in getting out of bed," she says. "I wasn't interested in talking or communicating with friends or family."

Then she enrolled in a study testing the effects of Botox on depression. Dermatologic surgeon Eric Finzi, M.D., Ph.D., conducted the pilot trial to test his theory that preventing a patient's facial frown in their brow would make it difficult to feel sadness.

"To feel emotions, you have to express it on the face," Dr. Finzi, of Chevy Chase Cosmetic Center in Maryland, tells Ivanhoe.

Botox for DepressionThe study involved 10 patients who were diagnosed as clinically depressed. Dr. Finzi injected a normal dose of Botox into their brows, which contain muscles that control a frown. Two months later, nine out of 10 patients were no longer clinically depressed.

A pretty small study, but interesting anyway.

Written at 11:42 AM by Greyhair.

3 comments

3 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Who would have dreamed it was that simple?

7:19 PM

Anonymous said...

Well, they have the new actor broken in, it would be a waste not to use him.

9:02 AM

Anonymous said...

Sorry about that, I have no idea how that got there - I must have been commenting on some other page!

1:04 AM

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