Soon, Botox to treat hay fever

The best-selling wrinkle erasing drug Botox will be used in an Australian study to treat hay fever, researchers said on Tuesday after it showed promise in providing relief in early trials.

The best-selling wrinkle erasing drug Botox will be used in an Australian study to treat hay fever, researchers said on Tuesday after it showed promise in providing relief in early trials.

Philip Bardin, a professor at the Monash Medical Centre, which is linked to Melbourne's Monash University, said Botox was already used in medicine to reduce spasms in muscles following strokes and in treating cerebral palsy.

"This is a very new way to use an old medication," he said. Under the trial, a Botox gel will be applied to the nose to hopefully give hay fever sufferers relief from sneezing, itchy eyes and runny noses for up to three months.

"Part of why this is possible is that the Botox molecule has been re-engineered to be able to penetrate through the skin and also through the lining of the nose," Bardin said.