Question:

I am a 43-year-old woman looking into Dysport injections.  Can you tell me how these differ from Botox? 

Answer:

Both Botox and Dysport are manufactured chemicals taken from natural occurring bacteria.  Botox and Dysport differ slightly in their chemical composition; however, they both act by the same mechanism which is to interrupt the neural transmission of nerve impulses from a nerve ending to a muscle causing the muscle to relax.  This is why both the Dysport and Botox relax and affect wrinkles which are the result of muscular contractions.  Because both of these products only reversibly relax the muscles, the length of duration is limited.  

The major difference between Botox and Dysport has yet to be established completely.  However, our initial studies seem to indicate that Dysport has a quicker onset of action and possibly a longer duration of action.  I want, however, to emphasize that this is just preliminary information and there is no absolute indication that Dysport is a more effective treatment than Botox.  Both Dysport and Botox act to relax the muscles responsible for contractions that make wrinkles on the face deeper.  

Neither Dysport nor Botox will be effective on static wrinkles, in other words wrinkles that are present without any muscular contraction.  Both Botox and Dysport are only active on wrinkles that deepen with muscular activity. 

Posted by:  Dr. Siporin