This study and case report of the cosmetic use of Botulinum toxin to treat a cosmetic complication of a cosmetic surgery was the first report on the specific treatment of wrinkles and was published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in 1989. Editors of the journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons have clearly stated "the first described use of the toxin in aesthetic circumstances was by Clark and Berris in 1989. "Jean and Alastair Carruthers observed that blepharospasm patients who received injections around the eyes and upper face also enjoyed diminished facial glabellar lines ("frown lines" between the eyebrows). Alastair Carruthers reported that others at the time also noticed these effects and discussed the cosmetic potential of botulinum toxin. Unlike other investigators, the Carruthers did more than just talk about the possibility of using botulinum toxin cosmetically. They conducted a clinical study on otherwise normal individuals whose only concern was their eyebrow furrow. They performed their study during 1987-1989 and presented their results at the 1990 annual meeting of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. Their findings were subsequently published in 1992. Chronic pain
William J. Binder reported in 2000, that patients who had cosmetic injections around the face reported relief from chronic headache. This was initially thought to be an indirect effect of reduced muscle tension, but the toxin is now known to inhibit release of peripheral nociceptive neurotransmitters, suppressing the central pain processing systems responsible for migraine headache.
Evidence suggests that nerve exposure (simulated by injection of atropine and pralidoxime) will increase mortality by enhancing botulinum toxins mechanism of toxicity. With regard to detection, protocols using NBC detection equipment (such as M-8 paper or the ICAM) will not indicate a "positive" when samples containing botulinum toxin are tested. To confirm a diagnosis of botulinum toxin poisoning, therapeutically or to provide evidence in death investigations, botulinum toxin may be quantitated by immunoassay of human biological fluids; serum levels of 12–24 mouse LD50 units per milliliter have been detected in poisoned patients.Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo produced botulinum toxin and spread it as an aerosol in downtown Tokyo during the 1990s, but the attacks caused no fatalities.During the early 1980s, German and French newspapers reported that the police had raided a Baader-Meinhof gang safe house in Paris and had found a makeshift laboratory that contained flasks full of Clostridium botulinum, which makes botulinum toxin. Their reports were later found to be incorrect; no such lab was ever found. Brand names
Botulinum toxin A is sold under the brand names Jeuveau, Botox, and Xeomin. Botulinum toxin B is sold under the brand name Myobloc.In the United States, botulinum toxin products are manufactured by a variety of companies, for both therapeutic and cosmetic use. A U.S. supplier reported in its company materials in 2011 that it could "supply the worlds requirements for 25 indications approved by Government agencies around the world" with less than one gram of raw botulinum toxin.