In another aspect of the study she also presented at the meeting, Dr. Karp, a neurologist who has studied the therapeutic use of neurotoxins such as botulinum for 30 years, showed results from an open-label extension of a randomized trial of botulinum toxin injections to treat pelvic spasm in the same cohort of women with confirmed endometriosis and confirmed pelvic muscle spasm.
Dr. Barbara Karp
A month after the open-label injection, spasm was reduced or absent in all subjects (P = .0005), with 11 of 13 rating pain as absent or mild (P = .0001), Dr. Karp and her colleagues reported. Between 5 and 11 months post injection, five women requested a repeat of the treatment.
Besides the data on pain and disability collected as part of the trial, Dr. Karp and her colleagues are also looking at biomarkers for pain and inflammation, and changes in medication and hormone use. They are preparing a separate literature review on injection techniques and dosages of toxin to the pelvic floor muscles.