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Updated: Mar 1, 2026
Induction of Acute Skeletal Muscle Regeneration by Cardiotoxin Injection
Published on: January 1, 2017
Recovery of rat muscle size but not function more than 1 year after a single botulinum toxin injection
Samuel R Ward1,2,3, Viviane B Minamoto1, Kentaro P Suzuki1
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
Introduction:
Neurotoxin injection is used to treat a wide variety of neuromuscular disorders. The purpose of this study was to measure the functional and structural properties of botulinum toxin-injected adult rat skeletal muscle over nearly the entire lifespan.
Methods:
Ten groups of animals were subjected to either neurotoxin injection [Botox, Type A (BT-A); Allergan, Irvine, California] or saline solution injection. Neurotoxin-injected animals (n = 90) were analyzed at different time-points: 1 week; 1 month; 3 months; 6 months; 12 months; or 18 months.
Results:
In spite of the recovery of structural features, such as muscle mass and fiber area, dorsiflexion torque production remained significantly depressed by 25%, even at 12 months after neurotoxin injection.
Discussion:
The data demonstrate that, after a single BT-A injection, although gross muscle morphology recovered over a 12-month time period, loss of contractile function did not recover. Muscle Nerve 57: 435-441, 2018.
