Botox injections can significantly improve quality of life for people with overactiv...(ndicate a lower quality of life. All...),Health

All the factors the researchers studied showed a reduction.

The median (mid point) improvements from baseline to 12 weeks were:

• Incontinence impact from 100 to 65
• Role limitations from 83 to 50
• Physical limitations from 75 to 42
• Social limitations - from 72 to 39
• Emotions from 100 to 65
• Severity measures from 67 to 34
• Sleep/energy from 83 to 58
• Personal relationships from 67 to 50.

Symptom severity in the Botox group fell from 17 to 12 when it was measured on a zero to 30 scale.

The only improvement in the placebo group was role limitations, from a median level of 83 to 66. The rest of the categories showed no improvement.

At 12 weeks the study was unblinded so that both the clinicians and patients knew who was receiving the Botox injections. Further improvements were noted in all categories during this extended period, including sleep and energy and personal relationships, which had not performed as well as the other categories in the first 12 weeks.

Previous research has shown that as many as one in six people over the age of 40 suffer from an overactive bladder and that the condition can have a very adverse affect on people's quality of life.

"Our study showed a significant relationship between the overall improvement in OAB symptoms and improved quality of life scores" says Mr Dasgupta.

"For example, at four weeks urgency and urge urinary incontinence were statistically correlated with improvements in quality of life and the same was true at 12 weeks for frequency and urgency.

"The overall benefits lasted at least 24 weeks after the injections were administered, with patients reporting both a reduction in bothersome bladder symptoms and an improved quality of life."

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