<i>Botox OK'd by US FDA to treat overactive bladder</i>

The popular Botox wrinkle treatment made by Allergan Inc has been approved to treat adults with overactive bladder who cannot tolerate or failed to be helped by other drugs for the condition, the US Food and Drug Administration said recently.
Botox injected into the bladder muscle causes the bladder to relax, increasing its storage capacity and reducing episodes of urinary incontinence, or leakage.
Botox had previously been approved for other non-cosmetic uses, such as migraine headaches, severe underarm sweating and loss of bladder control due to nerve damage.
The treatment can be repeated when the effect wears off, but with a gap of at least 12 weeks between treatments, the FDA said.
Many people suffer from overactive bladder take oral medications from a class of drugs called anticholinergics. The Botox approval is for those who are not helped by, or cannot take, those drugs, the FDA said.
Overactive bladder is a condition in which the bladder squeezes too often or squeezes without warning. Symptoms include leaking urine, feeling a sudden and urgent need to urinate, and frequent urination.
People being treated for overactive bladder with Botox should not have a urinary tract infection and should take antibiotics before, during, and for a few days after Botox treatment to lower the chance of developing an infection from the procedure, the FDA said.