Botulin toxin - Medical uses

Botulin toxin, popularly sold under the brand name Botox®, is a potent neurotoxin that has found a variety of remarkable uses in modern medicine. It is also the most popular nonsurgical medical cosmetic treatment in the UK and USA. Botulin toxin - Chemical overview. Botulinum (botulinus) toxin is the toxic compound produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The names Botox® and Dysport® are trade names and should not be used generically to describe the neurotoxins produced by Clostridia spec ...

Including:

• Botulin toxin - Chemical overview
• Botulin toxin - History
• Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare
• Botulin toxin - Medical uses
• Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

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Researchers discovered in the 1950s that injecting overactive muscles with minute quantities of botulinum toxin type A decreased muscle activity by blocking the release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction, thereby rendering the muscle unable to contract for a period of 4 to 6 months. Alan Scott, a San Francisco opthamologist, first applied tiny doses of the toxin in a medicinal sense to treat crossed eyes and uncontrollable blinking, but a partner was needed to gain regulatory approval to market his discovery as a drug. All ...

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Botulin toxin, Botulin toxin - Chemical overview, Botulin toxin - History, Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare, Botulin toxin - Medical uses, Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

Read more here: » Botulin toxin: Encyclopedia II - Botulin toxin - Medical uses

Botulinum (botulinus) toxin is the toxic compound produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The names Botox® and Dysport® are trade names and should not be used generically to describe the neurotoxins produced by Clostridia species. There are seven serologically distinct toxin types, designated A through G; 3 subtypes of A have been described. The toxins incorporate an enzyme (a protease) that attacks one of the fusion proteins at a neuromuscular junction, preventing vesicles from anchoring to the membrane to release acetylch ...

See also:

Botulin toxin, Botulin toxin - Chemical overview, Botulin toxin - History, Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare, Botulin toxin - Medical uses, Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

Read more here: » Botulin toxin: Encyclopedia II - Botulin toxin - Chemical overview

Botulinum (botulinus) toxin is the toxic compound produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The names Botox® and Dysport® are trade names and should not be used generically to describe the neurotoxins produced by Clostridia species. There are seven serologically distinct toxin types, designated A through G; 3 subtypes of A have been described. The toxins incorporate an enzyme (a protease) that attacks one of the fusion proteins at a neuromuscular junction, preventing vesicles from anchoring to the to the membrane to release a ...

See also:

Botulin toxin, Botulin toxin - Chemical overview, Botulin toxin - History, Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare, Botulin toxin - Medical uses, Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

Read more here: » Botulin toxin: Encyclopedia II - Botulin toxin - Chemical overview

Botulin toxin has always been considered an inferior agent for chemical warfare since it degrades rapidly on exposure to air, and therefore an area attacked with the toxic aerosol would be safe to enter within a day or so. There are no documented cases of the toxin's actually being used in warfare; however, it was probably used in the Operation Anthropoid to kill top Nazi Reinhard Heydrich ([1]) and in "Operation Mongoose" in 1961, the CIA saturated some cigars, of Fidel Castro's favorite brand, with botulinum toxin for a possible assassination attempt. The cigars were never used, but when t ...

See also:

Botulin toxin, Botulin toxin - Chemical overview, Botulin toxin - History, Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare, Botulin toxin - Medical uses, Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

Read more here: » Botulin toxin: Encyclopedia II - Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare

The German physician and poet Justinus Kerner first developed the idea of a possible therapeutic use of botulinum toxin, which he called "sausage poison." In 1870, Muller (another German physician) coined the name botulism. The Latin form is botulus, which means sausage. In 1895, Emile Van Ermengem first isolated the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. In 1944, Edward Schantz cultured Clostridium botulinum and isolated the toxin, and, in 1949, Burgen's group discovered that botulinum toxin blocks neuromuscular transmission. Throughout the 1950s ...

See also:

Botulin toxin, Botulin toxin - Chemical overview, Botulin toxin - History, Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare, Botulin toxin - Medical uses, Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

Read more here: » Botulin toxin: Encyclopedia II - Botulin toxin - History

Botulin toxin has always been considered an inferior agent for chemical warfare since it degrades rapidly on exposure to air, and therefore an area attacked with the toxic aerosol would be safe to enter within a day or so. There are no documented cases of the toxin's actually being used in warfare; however, in "Operation Mongoose" in 1961, the CIA saturated some cigars, of Fidel Castro's favorite brand, with botulinum toxin for a possible assassination attempt. The cigars were never used, but when t ...

See also:

Botulin toxin, Botulin toxin - Chemical overview, Botulin toxin - History, Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare, Botulin toxin - Medical uses, Botulin toxin - Chemical mechanism of toxicity

Read more here: » Botulin toxin: Encyclopedia II - Botulin toxin - Chemical warfare