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CBS News are reporting: Botox For Diabetic Foot Sores
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ST. LOUIS, MO For Diabetics.. Keeping Their Feet Healthy.. Is A Constant Concern.
Foot Sores Are Notoriously Easy To Get.. Slow To Heal.. And Often Come Back.
But Surprisingly.. A Popular Wrinkle-Smoother May Help.
Botox For Diabetic Foot Pain/St. Louis, MO
John Robinson Used To Be A Car Salesman. But The Work Was Hard On This Diabetic.. Who's Lost Feeling In His Feet
John Robinson/Study Participant
"I'd Get Sores On The Bottom Of My Feet And Before I Realize It, I'd Have An Infection. And I've Lost A Couple Toes And Part Of A Foot."
Diabetic Foot Wounds Are Most Common On The Ball Of The Foot.
Doctors Usually Treat The Ulcers By Casting The Foot To Take The Pressure Off.. And Letting Them Heal.
But Once Back In Shoes.. The Sores Often Return.
Mary Hastings, PT, DPT, ACT/Washington Univ. School Of Med.
"Perhaps One Of The Reasons People Reulcerate So Quickly, Sometimes Within Three Weeks, Is Because Their Skin Isn't Tough Enough To Tolerate The Pressures It's Experiencing While It's Walking."
Researchers Hope Botox Can Help.
They're Injecting The Poison.. Known For Relaxing Wrinkles.. Into Six Places On The Calf.
The Idea Is To Temporarily Weaken The Muscle That Pushes The Foot Forward.. Relieving The Pressure.
Mary Hastings, PT, DPT, ACT/Washington Univ. School Of Med.
"We Still Cast Them To Heal The Ulcer, But Then The Hope Is That Then, When They Start To Walk Again, Their Strength Returns Gradually."
"Just Dry. Looks Nice."
Ideally.. When The Calf Muscle Returns To Full Strength In Six To Eight Weeks.. The Foot Sore Is Gone For Good.
John Robinson/Study Participant
"I Don't Know Whether The Injection Helped, Because It's A Blind Study, I Don't Know If I… But So Far, I Haven't Had A Sore On My Foot Since."
The Study Is In The Early Stages.
Researchers Say If It Looks Promising.. They'd Need A Much Larger Study Before Botox Could Become A Standard Treatment For Diabetic Foot Wounds.
KSDK News Channel is reporting: Botox Could Help Diabetes Patients
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(KSDK) - A purified toxin made famous by its ability to smooth facial wrinkles may now be on the verge of helping an entirely different group of people. Botox is showing promise for some patients with diabetes.
It's one of the hottest things in cosmetic surgery: using Botox to fight wrinkles. The purified bacteria is injected into muscles in order to weaken their ability to contract. Now it's being investigated for its ability to prevent diabetic foot ulcers.
Anyone who thinks the effects of diabetes are overblown need look no further than John Robinson's feet.
"I had to give up work about a year ago because of my problems with my feet," said Robinson, 59.
Years of high blood sugar dulled the nerve sensations in his lower legs and feet. His condition is called peripheral neuropathy.
"Every time I turned around I was getting another sore or infection."
Those repeated infections eventually led to the amputation of his toes and part of his foot.
"It's a very complicated patient group," said Mary Hastings, a physical therapist at Washington University School of Medicine. Hastings is now leading a local study that may lead to a rather simple solution.
People with diabetic foot ulcers are being given a one-time dose of Botox in their calf muscles. Six shots in total weaken the leg muscle, making it difficult to apply too much pressure to the bottom of the foot when walking. The end result could be a decreased chance of a foot sore developing.
"(There was a thought of) maybe we can weaken the muscle temporarily," said Hastings, "(and) give the skin some time to increase its tolerance to the stress of walking and then they wouldn't have the have this high of a recurrence rate."
Robinson got just one series of shots almost a year ago. Because it's a double-blind study, neither he nor Hastings knows whether he got Botox or a placebo. All he knows is he's been foot-ulcer free ever since.
"I hope that maybe the program is the reason, but for one reason or another I haven't had a sore on my foot for almost a year," said Robinson.
Hastings says Botox is not a cure and much more research is needed.
If you're interested in learning more about becoming a volunteer in the "Botulinum Toxin Effects on Plantar Ulcer Recurrence" study, call 314-362-2407
Botox for diabetic foot ulcers ?
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