Oral Supplements Enhance Effectiveness of Botox Injections

Research conducted by Charles Soparkar, MD, PhD, FACS has resulted in a patent-pending dietary supplement combining zinc and phytase (trademarked as ZYTAZE™) to be available to patients as early as September 2010.

Forty-one of the 44 patients who took the oral supplements prior to botulinum toxin injections (Botox®, Dysport®, or Myobloc®) showed improved results. Many of the patients in the study were being treated for a rare form of eyelid spasm called blepharospasm and had previously responded poorly to botulinum toxin injections.

Soparkar’s research team will present the effect of dietary zinc supplementation on botulinum toxin treatments at the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery’s 41st Annual Fall Scientific Symposium on October 14, 2010 in Chicago.

“Surprisingly, the results showed that in over 90% of the patients studied, the zinc/phytase combination resulted in a remarkable improved responsiveness to treatment of blepharospasm using the same amount of botulinum toxin as previously used,” says Soparkar, an oculoplastic surgeon at The Methodist Hospital. “The toxins seemed to have greater effect and last longer. Potentially, this could mean using less toxin, offering patients financial savings, greater safety, and more consistent results.”