BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS In patients with achalasia, intrasphincteric injection of botulinum toxin (BTX) has been suggested as an alternative regimen to balloon dilation and has been shown to be superior to placebo injection. The aim of the present study was to test the effectiveness, the long-term outcome and the cumulative costs of BTX injection in consecutive patients with symptomatic achal...

A structural model of the rNav1.4 Na+ channel with batrachotoxin (BTX) bound within the inner cavity suggested that the BTX pyrrole moiety is located between a lysine residue at the DEKA selectivity filter (Lys1237) and an adjacent phenylalanine residue (Phe1236). We tested this pyrrole-binding model by site-directed mutagenesis of Phe1236 at D3/P-loop with 11 amino acids. Mutants F1236D and F1...

Five aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, and three isomeric xylenes) were monitored in indoor and outdoor air of 7 public buildings and 54 private homes, located in Barcelona City metropolitan area and in several rural areas of Catalonia. The sampling was carried out over four periods: spring-summer and winter of 2000, and summer and winter of 2001. Passive ORSA 5 Dräger samplers were used...

Enrichment cultures obtained from soil exposed to benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) mineralized benzene and toluene but cometabolized only xylene isomers, forming polymeric residues. This observation prompted us to investigate the metabolism of 14C-labeled BTX hydrocarbons in soil, either individually or as mixtures. BTX-supplemented soil was incubated aerobically for up to 4 weeks in a sealed...

Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin type A (BTx-A) is known to inhibit the release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junctions and synapses and to cause neuroparalysis and death. In this study, we have identified two monoclonal antibodies, BT57-1 and BT150-3, which protect ICR mice against lethal doses of BTx-A challenge. The neutralizing activities for BT57-1 and BT150-3 were 10(3) and 10(4) ...

BACKGROUND Etiology and date of palsy are two important parameters that affect the treatment protocol of sixth nerve palsies. This study evaluated the treatment protocols and outcomes of treatment in sixth nerve palsies. METHODS Thirty-four patients who had sixth nerve palsy were included. Botulinum toxin A (BTX) injection was performed on patients with acute sixth nerve palsy and paresis (BT...

AIMS To determine if the outcomes of intradetrusor botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) injections for the management of refractory overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms are different if performed due to lack of anticholinergic efficacy versus medication intolerability. METHODS Retrospective chart review was performed on all patients undergoing intradetrusor BTX-A (BOTOX®, Allergan Inc., Irvine, CA) injecti...

The systematic literature review was carried out to point out the efficacy of botulinum type A toxin (BTX-A) intra-detrusor injections in adults with idiopathic overactive bladder (OAB) and urgency urinary incontinence (UUI). A PubMed search for clinical studies with BTX-A intra-detrusor injections in adults with OAB was performed.The studies showed improvements in quality of life by relieving ...

In this study, the performance of permeation tube (PT) devices for the generation of VOC calibration gas was examined by successively generating BTX gas at five temperatures (30, 50, 70, 80, and 100 °C) and two flow rates (400 and 800 mL min⁻¹). A distinct relationship was observed between temperatures and permeation rates (PR) (or generated BTX concentrations). We examined the reliability of t...

BACKGROUND Many previous studies have demonstrated that botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) injections satisfactorily reduce spasticity. Nevertheless, BTX-A, with or without an adjuvant therapy, effectively improves the direct functional movement in few patients with spastic upper extremity paralysis. Therefore the present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of task-orientated therapy on spasticit...