BACKGROUND AND AIMS It has not been clarified if botulinum toxin (BTX) injection leads to muscle spindle dysfunction in man. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that BTX application reduces the facilitation of a magnetic evoked response (MEP). METHODS We used the vibration induced facilitation of an MEP of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) as a surrogate marker for muscle spindle funct...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to determine the force distribution and pattern of mastication after injection of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) into both masseter muscles. The hypothesis to be tested was that the difference between right and left balance of occlusal force diminishes over time following BTX-A injection. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifteen patients were submitted to BTX-A injectio...

Botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A), serial casting, and combined treatment for spastic equinus were compared by chart review. Fifty-five patients with diplegia (n=21), hemiplegia (n=17), quadriplegia (n=6), and other diagnoses (n=11) were reviewed. Thirty-one patients had Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) scores of I or II, 10 had a GMFCS score of III, and eight had GMFCS scores of...

Batrachotoxin (BTX) modification and tetrodotoxin (TTX) block of BTX-modified Na channels were studied in single cardiac cells of neonatal rats using the whole-cell patch-clamp recording technique. The properties of BTX-modified Na channels in heart are qualitatively similar to those in nerve. However, quantitative differences do exist between the modified channels of these two tissues. In the ...

To identify high-affinity interactions between long-chain α-neurotoxins and nicotinic receptors, we determined the crystal structure of the complex between α-btx (α-bungarotoxin) and a pentameric ligand-binding domain constructed from the human α7 AChR (acetylcholine receptor) and AChBP (acetylcholine-binding protein). The complex buries ~2000 Ų (1 Å=0.1 nm) of surface area, within which Arg³⁶...

Lateral axial dystonia (LAD) has been described in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), but treatment might be more controversial than treatment of LAD in other neurological conditions. Our study was designed as a blinded cross-over with botulinum toxin (BTX) and placebo in order to investigate the efficacy of BTX in PD LAD. Nine patients with LAD who failed to experience benefit from oral m...

Batrachotoxin (BTX), from South American frogs of the genus Phyllobates, irreversibly activates voltage-gated sodium channels. Previous work demonstrated that a phenylalanine residue approximately halfway through pore-lining transmembrane segment IVS6 is a critical determinant of channel sensitivity to BTX. In this study, we introduced a series of mutations at this site in the Na(v)1.3 sodium c...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of extraocular muscle injection of botulinum toxin-A (BTX-A) on intraocular pressure (IOP) and proptosis in patients with ocular motility disturbances in thyroid associated orbitopathy (TAO). In 17 patients (20 eyes) with restrictive strabismus and diplopia, BTX-A injections were applied. Intraocular pressure was measured with a Goldmann applana...

BACKGROUND A suitable pharmacological substitute for the well-established surgical delay technique for random skin flaps to increase viability has been elusive. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of nitroglycerin and botulinum toxin type A on random flap survival in a rat model. METHODS The present controlled experimental study was performed in the four groups of rats. One week after interve...

A decrease in pyloric myoelectrical activity and pyloric substance P (SP) content following intrasphincteric injection of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) in free move rats have been demonstrated in our previous studies. The aim of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of BTX-A on rat pyloric muscle contractile response to SP in vitro and the distributions of SP and neurokini...