Botox Soothes Writer's Cramp

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The substance was first approved in 1998 to treat eye problems such as "lazy eye." Next, it got approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of a movement disorder that causes neck and shoulder contractions. It is also used to help stroke victims recover some limb function and to help children with cerebral palsy.

For the new study, which appeared online Dec. 20 in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 40 people with writer's cramp were randomly assigned to receive Botox injections or a placebo injection over a period of 12 weeks.

Fourteen of 20 patients (70 percent) receiving Botox reported significant improvement and chose to continue treatment. Only six of 19 patients (31.6 percent) in the placebo group reported improvements and wanted to continue. One person dropped out of the trial.

Participants receiving Botox injections also scored higher on clinical rating scales.

After one year, 50 percent of the original participants were still receiving Botox injections and finding them helpful.

Some participants reported mild hand weakness, but this side effect was generally transitory.

This muscle weakness is one of the main drawbacks of Botox and one of the reasons Weber said he didn't use it. Another drawback is the fact that Botox is not a permanent treatment.

In this study, individuals had relief from writer's cramp for three to 18 months, with an average symptom-free period of four-and-a-half months. The effects of Botox are not permanent and require repeat injections about every three months.

The trial was the largest conducted to date on this topic, the researchers said.

"Our study is the first large double-blind randomized placebo controlled trial regarding the treatment effect of Botulinum toxin on writer's cramp," Kruisdijk said. "Open-label studies and a few small randomized controlled trials were reported before and showed positive results."

And the findings were not surprising to the authors.

"The results were in accordance with our expectations," Kruisdijk said.

More information

To learn more about Botox, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.