Botox, the popular injectable drug used to treat facial wrinkles, also does wonders for sweaty armpits, a U.S. study showed on Saturday.
Given once or twice a year, the shot can help people who suffer from sweating so severe it limits their daily activities, the study found.
Researchers said the same chemical that tells facial muscles to freeze when injected into the skin also tells sweat glands to stop functioning.
"It makes sense that Botox would work for both types of problems," said Dr. Dee Ann Glaser, a dermatologist at St. Louis University School of Medicine and one of the study's lead investigators.
In the one-year study of 322 patients, 75 percent reported improvement and the majority sweated less for an average of six months, Glaser said.
California-based Allergan Inc., which makes Botox, sponsored the study presented on Saturday at the American Academy of Dermatology's annual meeting.
The drug maker last year applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to include the treatment of excessive sweat as an approved use, Glaser said.
Glaser said doctors had been using it in armpits for years.
Unlike cosmetic Botox shots, which are deep enough to penetrate muscle, the sweat-suppressing shots are superficial.
"It really is not very uncomfortable at all," Glaser said.
Costs for the treatment vary between $1,000 and $1,200 a session and can offer relief for an average of six months.
Prior to the study's release, Allergan shares closed up $1.59, or 1.87 percent, on Friday at $86.65 on the New York Stock Exchange.
