Is Botox an Effective Treatment for Depression?
Depression, stress and anxiety continue to plague more and more Americans as the days go by, and many of them are having a hard time receiving the help and treatment they need to recover, according to a new study.
An evaluation of federal health data previously showed an estimated number of 8.3 million American adults — which is about 3.4 percent of the U.S. population — to be suffering from psychological distress.
However, as reported by the International Business Times, the recent study concluded that there has been a rise in the number of cases of depression in the country from the previous three percent estimate, and researchers believe that this rise could be the lasting aftermath of the Great Recession back in late 2007.
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"Mental illness is on the rise. Suicide is on the rise. And access to care for the mentally ill is getting worse," said Judith Weissman, lead researcher and research manager in the Department of Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.
"The recession seemed to have pushed the mentally ill to a point where they never recovered," she explained. "This is a very disturbing finding because of the implications of what mental illness can do to a person in terms of their ability to function and their life span."
There are many methods available which are currently used as effective treatments for depression, but a test reported by CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez suggested that getting Botox could also be used to help treat depression.
According to this theory, facial expressions are part of the circuit of the brain related to mood. The brain causes facial frown lines when a person is depressed, and the feedback from the facial muscles going to the brain reinforces that feeling of depression. Botox is thought to be capable of severing that feedback loop and thereby allows a more stable mental state.
"We don't believe it has anything to do with looks," Dr. Eric Finzi of the Chevy Chase Cosmetic Center said.
"Fear, anger and sadness all go through this muscle, so Botox basically inhibits the muscle and calms it down," Finzi explained. "So it becomes more difficult to feel those negative emotions."
The makers of Botox recently announced that the final phase of testing for depression is set to begin. Previous studies have shown that to 50 to 60 percent of the patients will benefit from the Botox treatment.
