Botox for menstrual pain relief?

Infusion of Botox could help reduce pelvic pain and improve the quality of life of women suffering from severe menstrual pain. In addition, this approach is so effective that it could reduce the need for drugs that are usually prescribed on this health issue, leading to a lower overall treatment cost.

This is the conclusion reached by a research team from Aix-Marseille University and Université Laval after a study whose results were recently published in The Gynecology newspaper Obstetrics and Human Reproduction.

“About 3% of women suffer from severe menstrual pain, as they do not respond to the usual painkillers and hormones prescribed for dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation), their quality of life is seriously influenced,” explains her teammate Jean Martial Kouame, and her teammate. Jason Robert GuertinProfessor at the School of Medicine and Researcher at Université Laval at the Université Laval Laval Research Center. Women who are struggling with severe dysmenorrhea are consulted by many doctors and other healthcare experts in the hope of finding relief. In addition, since prescribed medicines are often ineffective, they must constantly change treatments. “All of this leads to significant expenses for the healthcare system,” the postdoctoral partner notes. “In addition, their condition affects their daily operation and forces them to receive frequent absences from work, representing significant indirect expenses.”

Studies conducted in the last 10 years suggest that botox could relieve severe dysmenorrhea by preventing pelvic muscle contractions associated with this pain. The team from Aix-Marseille and Université Laval have attempted to confirm these findings and conduct a pharmacidal analysis of this treatment in the French context.

The group has gathered data from women who have been treated for severe dysmenorrhea at the AIX-EN-PROVENCE Women’s Health Research Center. Initially, 120 patients received a therapeutic design, including painkillers, neuropathic pain drugs, hormones and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Later, the 100 women who did not respond to these treatments received Botox injection. Their doctors also predicted painkillers to relieve the suffering of the process and pain associated with dysmenorrhea. “It takes about a month to fully apply Botox to the muscles,” explains Jean Martial Kouame.

Botox injections showed a significant reduction in menstrual pain, summarizing the postdoctoral. “For some women, the pain has completely disappeared, without a relapse for more than a year. Their quality of life, including their sex life, has improved significantly.”

A pharmacon model developed by the research team compared the cost of contracting against Botox treatment, assuming supportive injections every six months. After a year, Botox treatment could save about $ 1,700 per patient. After 10 years, savings could exceed CAD $ 9,750.

Experimental treatment

Currently, Botox injections for severe dysmenorrhea are still considered experimental treatment in France and are not covered by the public healthcare system. “This could change if the randomized study we conduct with 300 patients delivers definitive results,” the postdoctoral researcher argues. “It could also help identify this treatment in Quebec. It’s not just Botox a promising treatment for women who do not respond to conventional therapies for severe menstrual pain, but could also lead to significant savings of social society costs.”

The other editors of study published in Gynecology newspaper Obstetrics and Human Reproduction It is Jason Robert Guertin, Éric Bautrant, Christine Levêque and Carole Siani.