Exploring the effect of glabellar Botulinum toxin injections on symptoms of anxiety and depression: A pilot study from a cosmetic patient population

Botulinum toxin (BT) injections to the glabellar region are emerging as a promising investigational treatment for multiple mental health conditions. By paralyzing the muscles involved in frowning, this intervention is postulated by the facial feedback hypothesis to reduce the intensity of negative affective states and has a growing body of evidence for treating major depression. However, applications to other psychiatric conditions have been relatively unexplored. This is the first study to our knowledge to examine the effect of glabellar BT on generalized anxiety. By tracking GAD-7 scores of a cosmetic population before and after receipt of glabellar BT, we observed a statistically significant decrease of anxious symptoms among patients who entered the study with a baseline level of clinical anxiety. Though more research is needed, our results suggest glabellar BT has the potential to improve symptoms of mild to moderate generalized anxiety.