Wrinkle cream stimulates brain power By Nicole Strahan 28jan02 THE world-first use of brain scanning technology on children in Melbourne has found that using a wrinkle treatment called Botox to treat cerebral palsy can permanently improve brain function. The first phase of a study by Melbourne's Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the Brain Research Institute has discovered once-inactive areas of the brain show significant signs of activity after Botox injections into stiff limbs. Until now researchers have been unsure whether Botox, derived from the deadly botulism bacteria and used by Hollywood stars to reduce facial wrinkles, permanently improved brain function. But the use of brain scanning technology, Magnetic Resonance Imagining, allows researchers for the first time to see how the brain is working after Botox injections and follow-up physical therapy. Results show brain activity is significantly greater for children injected with Botox than for those who only underwent physical therapy. Researchers believe this increased brain activity may explain why children retain improved limb movement -- months after Botox injections. Brain Research Institute director Graeme Jackson said the use of scanning was a breakthrough in understanding the brain's response to Botox. "It does suggest that something about this Botox injection is allowing the brain to reorganise, (which) it did not do without that intervention," he said. "And having proof of that is really very exciting ... it really is cutting edge." Worldwide, researchers avoided using scanning technology on children under eight because it was believed they were incapable of lying still for the required 30 minutes to gain an accurate brain image. Melbourne researchers overcame this problem by "training" children in mock-scanners. For William McGrath, one of 14 children taking part in the initial study, scans show improved brain function relating to his once stiff right arm. William, 5, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy shortly after suffering a stroke at birth. Within three weeks of Botox injections, the stiffness eased, enabling him to tie his shoelaces for the first time.
