Names: onabotulinumtoxin A
How Botox works: Botox is a drug that is given by a needle into the muscles of the head and neck. Botox causes those muscles to relax. Botox also blocks a pathway in the body that can make the brain respond too much to things in the environment.
Evidence in children: Health Canada and the FDA have approved Botox for chronic migraine in adults. In children, Botox has been studied twice with some promising results. In one study 4/10 patients had headache relief and in the second study, half the children saw a 75% reduction in the number of headache days they had. These studies were done with a small number of children, meaning that there is a greater chance that this small number of children doesn’t necessarily represent the entire population of all the children who have migraines in Canada, therefore it is difficult to draw conclusions saying that Botox would help all or most children with migraines in Canada or that most children in Canada with migraine will not have any negative side effects from this treatment. 1
Cautions: In adults, Botox has some negative side effects, such as pain when being injected, paralysis of the face sometimes occurs, also neck pain and neck weakness and headache. 1
1. Teleanu, R. I., Vladacenco, O., Teleanu, D. M. & Epure, D. A. Treatment of Pediatric Migraine: a Review. Mædica 11, 136–143 (2016).