Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) experience a progressive decline in motor function as a result of selective loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra. The mechanism(s) underlying the loss of DA neurons is not known. Here, we show that a neurotoxin that causes a disease that mimics PD upon administration to mice, because it induces the selective loss of DA neurons in th...

Even though conventional botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) products have shown successful treatment results in patients with benign blepharospasm (BEB), the main, potential long-term side effect of BoNT use is the development of immunologic resistance due to the production of neutralizing antibody to the neurotoxin after repeated injections. Xeomin(®) (incobotulinumtoxinA), a unique botulinum neuroto...

Clostridium botulinum organisms generally produce 1 of 4 neurotoxin types (A, B, E, and F) associated with human illness. Neurotoxin type determination is important in identification of the bacterium. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was developed to identify 24 h botulinal cultures as potential types A, B, E, and F neurotoxin producers as well as other clostridial species which also pr...

Snake alpha-neutotoxins of Elapidae venoms are grouped into two structural classes, short-chain and long-chain alpha-neutotoxins. While these two classes share many chemical and biological characteristics, there are also distinct dissimilarities between them, including their binding site on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), specificity among species of Chordata, and the associated p...

The crayfish's lateral giant escape response, a relatively simple behavioral reaction, is readily modulated in certain situations. For example, when a crayfish is restrained, its lateral giant (LG) fibers--command neurons that mediate the escape response--are strongly inhibited (Krasne and Wine, 1975). Previous work (Glanzman and Krasne, 1983) had suggested that serotonin (5-HT) might mediate t...

Three Clostridium botulinum type E strains were sequenced for the botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) gene cluster, and 11 type E strains, representing a wide biodiversity, were sequenced for the bont/E gene. The total length of the BoNT/E gene cluster was 12,908 bp, and a novel gene (partial) designated orfx3, together with the complete orfx2 gene, was identified in the three type E strains for the fi...

OBJECTIVES To compare the effects and histopathological changes of botulinum neurotoxin type A and lysozyme gene injections into prostate tissue within a testosterone induced benign prostate hyperplasia rat model. MATERIALS AND METHODS 40 male Wistar rats were randomized into four Groups. Group-1: Control, Group-2: Testosterone replacement, Group-3: Testosterone+botulinum neurotoxin type A, G...

The effects of Lathyrus sativus neurotoxin were studied on the cell membrane potential and cellular cation composition in Retzius nerve cells of the leech Haemopis sanguisuga, with ion-selective microelectrodes using liquid ion-exchangers. Bath application of 10(-4) mol/l Lathyrus sativus neurotoxin for 3 min depolarized the cell membrane potential and decreased the input resistance of directly...

Plastic Surgery, the number of aesthetic procedures involving botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT-A) increased 3681% between 1997 and 2008. Almost 2.5 million procedures were performed using this neurotoxin last year, accounting for approximately 25% of all nonsurgical aesthetic procedures performed in 2008.1 Both aesthetic and therapeutic uses of this neurotoxin are likely to increase in the com...