Botox is turning out to be more than a fountain of youth, it's becoming a life saver for some people battling serious illness.

Nine-year-old Andrew Carter has cerebral palsy. Often, when Andrew would try to move, his muscles would fight him. They caused his limbs to jerk around. The condition is called spasticity. Botox injections help calm his muscles.

Botox Helping Other Patients

"It hurts but I really do think it helps because it loosens me up," said Andrew.

Botulinum toxin is what causes food poisoning. But in these patients, it's targeted to specific muscles.

"It causes partial paralysis in the muscle you inject it into," said Dr. Lewis Andrew Koman of Wake Forest University.

By relaxing muscles, Botox is also helping stroke patients like Ginger Hinshaw. She could barely move after her stroke.

"My left hand, if it's not in this splint, my fingers will just be in a knot," she said.

Today, she's able to write about what happened to her.

"I have a lot of exercises and stretches to do at home to get me ready for my next phase of recovery," said Ginger.

Dr. Allison Brashear says there's no risk and patients can take it again and again and again.

"The beauty of the drug is that you put the Botox in the arm, and it just stays there," said Dr. Brashear.

Botox is now giving patients like Ginger and Andrew control of their arms, legs and life.

Botox is also being used to help M.S. patients and patients with traumatic brain injuries. Injections need to be repeated about every four to six months. There are no known side effects.