Therapeutic Research
In the late 1960s, Alan Scott, MD, a San Francisco ophthalmologist, and Edward Schantz were the first to work on a standardized botulinum toxin preparation for therapeutic purposes. By 1973, Scott (now at Smith-Kettlewell Institute) used botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) in monkey experiments, and, in 1980, he officially used BTX-A for the first time in humans to treat "crossed eyes" (strabismus), a condition in which the eyes are not properly aligned with each other, and "uncontrollable blinking" (blepharospasm). In 1993, Pasricha and colleagues showed botulinum toxin could be used for the treatment of achalasia, a spasm of the lower esophageal sphincter. In 1994, Bushara showed botulinum toxin injections inhibit sweating. This was the first demonstration of non-muscular use of BTX-A in humans.
Read more about this topic: Botulinum Toxin
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