title: Safety of botulinum toxin A in aesthetic treatments: a systematic review of clinical studies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The use of botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) for aesthetic treatments is growing steadily, and new safety data have been reported in recently published studies.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the safety data on the use of the three BoNT-A formulations approved for facial aesthetics from recent studies and to confirm their safety profiles.
  
  
  METHODS
  The literature search was conducted using three online databases restricted to the timeframe from January 2000 to June 2012. Only clinical trials, randomized or open label, with safety as the primary or secondary endpoint, were included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-five papers were selected, with a total of subjects 8,787 studied. OnabotulinumtoxinA was used in 60.0% of the studies, abobotulinumtoxinA in 37.1%, and incobotulinumtoxinA in 2.8%. The glabella was the most investigated area (51.4%), followed by the upper face (25.7%), crow's feet (11.4%), and lower face (11.4%). Treatment-related adverse events were blepharoptosis (2.5%), brow ptosis (3.1%), and eye sensory disorders (3%) in the upper face and lip asymmetries and imbalances in the lower face (6.9%). All of these events resolved spontaneously.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The short-term safety profile of BoNT-A in cosmetic nonsurgical procedures was confirmed for all the three commercial formulations.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Plastic Surgery, Centro Diagnostico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cavallini
authors.forename: Pierfrancesco
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cirillo
authors.forename: Salvatore Piero
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Fundarò
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Quartucci
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sciuto
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sito
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tonini
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trocchi
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Signorini
mesh_terms: D001763:Blepharoptosis / Q000139:chemically induced; D019274:Botulinum Toxins, Type A / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003357:Cosmetic Techniques / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005145:Face; D005146:Facial Asymmetry / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D009465:Neuromuscular Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015595:Skin Aging; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced
chemical_list: D009465:Neuromuscular Agents; D019274:Botulinum Toxins, Type A