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 WASHINGTON (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Botox injections are a popular cosmetic tool to get rid of facial lines and wrinkles, which patients say makes them look younger. But one doctor says it can also be used to treat depression.
Rainy days used to bring Kathleen Delano down. She's suffered from depression since her 20s and says anti-depressants and therapy didn't help. "I wasn't suicidal, but I wasn't interested in getting out of bed," she says. "I wasn't interested in talking or communicating with friends or family."
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Then she enrolled in a study testing the effects of Botox on depression. Dermatologic surgeon Eric Finzi, M.D., Ph.D., conducted the pilot trial to test his theory that preventing a patient's facial frown in their brow would make it difficult to feel sadness.
"To feel emotions, you have to express it on the face," Dr. Finzi, of Chevy Chase Cosmetic Center in Maryland, tells Ivanhoe.
 The study involved 10 patients who were diagnosed as clinically depressed. Dr. Finzi injected a normal dose of Botox into their brows, which contain muscles that control a frown. Two months later, nine out of 10 patients were no longer clinically depressed.
"You're basically preventing people from expressing those sad and angry emotions on their face. Somehow, that's feeding back directly to the brain," Dr. Finzi says. He says results are gradual, not immediate. They take a week or two to kick in.
Delano agrees. "It's not like you take the Botox and 'Hallelujah, I'm healed,'" she says.
 Botox wears off after about three months, and Dr. Finzi says so do its anti-depressive effects. So, patients need to regularly have Botox injections for this treatment to work. A single Botox treatment costs about $400. Dr. Finzi says this initial data is promising, but he believes a larger study with more patients is still needed.
Delano is already a believer. She says, "Really feeling for the first time in a lot of years that I'm free of depression." No longer depressed, she's not singing in the rain, but now she can smile through it.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Chevy Chase Cosmetic Center
8401 Connecticut Avenue, Ste 210
Chevy Chase, Maryland, 20815
(240) 482-2555
http://www.chevychasecosmeticcenter.com
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