Toxins 2013, 5, 821-840; doi:10.3390/toxins5040821 OPEN ACCESS toxins ISSN 2072-6651 www.mdpi.com/journal/toxins Review Hyperhidrosis: Anatomy, Pathophysiology and Treatment with Emphasis on the Role of Botulinum Toxins Amanda-Amrita D. Lakraj 1, Narges Moghimi 2 and Bahman Jabbari 1,* 1 Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine; New Haven, CT 06520, USA; E-Mail:
[email protected] 2 Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University; Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; E-Mail:
[email protected] * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail:
[email protected]; Tel.: +1-203-737-2464; Fax: +1-203-737-1122. Received: 12 February 2013; in revised form: 27 March 2013 / Accepted: 12 April 2013 / Published: 23 April 2013 Abstract: Clinical features, anatomy and physiology of hyperhidrosis are presented with a review of the world literature on treatment. Level of drug efficacy is defined according to the guidelines of the American Academy of Neurology. Topical agents (glycopyrrolate and methylsulfate) are evidence level B (probably effective). Oral agents (oxybutynin and methantheline bromide) are also level B. In a total of 831 patients, 1 class I and 2 class II blinded studies showed level B efficacy of OnabotulinumtoxinA (A/Ona), while 1 class I and 1 class II study also demonstrated level B efficacy of AbobotulinumtoxinA (A/Abo) in axillary hyperhidrosis (AH), collectively depicting Level A evidence (established) for botulinumtoxinA (BoNT-A). In a comparator study, A/Ona and A/Inco toxins demonstrated comparable efficacy in AH. For IncobotulinumtoxinA (A/Inco) no placebo controlled studies exist; thus, efficacy is Level C (possibly effective) based solely on the aforementioned class II comparator study.