Botulinum Toxin Therapy in Veterinary Medicine

Emerging literature supports that local injection of botulinum toxins can help local pain in animals. In dogs, botulinum toxin injections have been studied for treatment of painful joints (osteoarthritis) and pain after breast removal (mastectomy) for malignant breast cancer. In horses, botulinum toxin injections have been used to improve pain resulting from bone degeneration in animal’s hoofs leading to soft tissue damage (laminitis and synovitis). This chapter reviews the potential of botulinum toxin therapy for alleviation of local pain in canine and equine species.