Every year manufacturing companies make advances in the field of esthetic medicine and come out with products that are better, less expensive, or last longer. Unfortunately, I do not see a product, at least in the near future, that will be similar to Botox or Dysport and yet last much longer. The reason I say this is that the mechanism of action of Botox and Dysport is irreversible. That means that the molecule of Botox and Dysport binds to the nerve ending permanently. The nerve then reacts to this by creating a new nerve ending and the amount of time that it takes the nerve to grow this new ending is how long the Botox or Dysport will last. This is typically in the three to four-month range. In order for a product to last longer than this, it would have to be able to prevent the nerve from creating a new ending and this type of mechanism could potentially create all sorts of undesirable side effects. One day such a product may exist and they may end up perfecting this to avoid any sort of side effects or complications, but I do not see this happening in the very near future. The good news is that Botox and Dysport are extremely safe, extremely reliable, and do a wonderful job at rejuvenating the upper half of the face. With the new competition to Botox from Dysport and some newer neuromodulators that will become available in the very near future, I see the price of these products actually decreasing in the near future so that overall the treatment will be a more affordable option for many patients.
