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Botulinum toxin, or botulinum neurotoxin (commonly called botox), is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and related species. [24] It prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon endings at the neuromuscular junction , thus causing flaccid paralysis . [ 25 ]
Along with some strains of Clostridium butyricum and Clostridium baratii, these bacteria all produce the toxin. [2] Botulinum toxin can cause botulism, a severe flaccid paralytic disease in humans and other animals, [3] and is the most potent toxin known to science, natural or synthetic, with a lethal dose of 1.3–2.1 ng/kg in humans. [4] [5]
This generally only occurs with inappropriate strengths of botulinum toxin for cosmetic use or due to the larger doses used to treat movement disorders. [2] However, there are cases where an off-label use of botulinum toxin resulted in severe botulism and death. [25] Following a 2008 review the FDA added these concerns as a boxed warning. [26]
Common examples of neurotoxins include lead, [7] ethanol (drinking alcohol), [8] glutamate, [9] nitric oxide, [10] botulinum toxin (e.g. Botox), [11] tetanus toxin, [12] and tetrodotoxin. [6] Some substances such as nitric oxide and glutamate are in fact essential for proper function of the body and only exert neurotoxic effects at excessive ...
Negative values of the decimal logarithm of the median lethal dose LD 50 (−log 10 (LD 50)) on a linearized toxicity scale encompassing 11 orders of magnitude. Water occupies the lowest toxicity position (1) while the toxicity scale is dominated by the botulinum toxin (12). [107] The LD 50 values have a very wide range.
The botulinum toxin, which is primarily produced by Clostridium botulinum and less frequently by other Clostridium species, is the most toxic substance known in the world. [1] However, microbial toxins also have important uses in medical science and research.
Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. [1] It occurs when exposure to a substance – specifically, a neurotoxin or neurotoxicant – alters the normal activity of the nervous system in such a ...
BAT is the only FDA-approved product available for treating botulism in adults, and for botulism in infants caused by botulinum toxins other than types A and B. BAT has been used to treat a case of type F infant botulism and, on a case-by-case basis, may be used for future cases of non-type A and non-type B infant botulism.