Papers of the Week

Musculoskeletal disorders of the masticatory system impact the quality of life and have a high cost of diagnosis and treatment. Masseter muscle hyperactivity is a cause of pain in the chewing apparatus. Botulinum toxin type A (BoNTA) injection is widely used to induce paralysis of the masseter muscle, thereby decreasing impaired muscle activity. However, our laboratory has described in a preclinical model that the injection of BoNTA not only induces paralysis, but also muscle atrophy, which subsequently decreases bone quality. However, it is unknown whether apoptosis or autophagy mechanisms could contribute to muscle atrophy.