Batrachotoxin (BTX) stabilizes the voltage-gated Na(+) channels in their open conformation, whereas local anesthetics (LAs) block Na(+) conductance. Site-directed mutagenesis has identified clusters of common residues at D1-S6, D3-S6, and D4-S6 segments within the alpha-subunit Na(+) channel that are critical for binding of these two types of ligands. In this report, we address whether segment ...

Neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) can result in lower and upper urinary tract complications and eventually even in end-stage kidney failure. Since the driving force of this clinical cascade is high bladder pressure, controlling intravesical pressure in NDO patients improves both quality of life and life-expectancy in these patients. Botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) has proven its efficacy in redu...

PURPOSE We investigated the effects of BTX-A on visceral afferent nerve transmission by measuring bladder tissue NGF levels in patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity before and after intravesical treatment with BTX-A. We also compared the bladder tissue NGF content with clinical and urodynamic data. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 23 patients underwent clinical evaluation and urodyna...

The anticonvulsants phenytoin and carbamazepine interact allosterically with the batrachotoxin binding site of sodium channels. In the present study, we demonstrate an autoradiographic technique to localize the batrachotoxin binding site on sodium channels in rat brain using [3H]batrachotoxinin-A 20-alpha-benzoate (BTX-B). Binding of [3H]BTX-B to brain sections is dependent on potentiating allo...

Mutational inactivation of p53 is a key player in the development of human cancer. Thus, retrieving the tumor suppressor activity of p53 gene is considered a novel strategy in cancer therapy. Current study aimed to investigate the anti-cancer potentials of botulinum toxin type-A (BTX-A) and captopril as a trial to shed light on effective anti-cancer therapy with lower side effects. Cytotoxic ef...

Histological evidence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) exceeded 50% in men over 50 years of age and rose to 75% as men entered the eighth decade. Therapeutic options for BPH generally fall into one of the three categories: watchful waiting, medical treatment and surgery. Excluding watchful waiting, the other forms of intervention directed at modifying the physiologic effects of BPH with or...

Existing functional evaluation tools do not accurately reveal the improved function following botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) injection for post-stroke upper limb spasticity. With the aim of developing an alternate method of measuring functional improvement following BTX-A injection, this study tested the feasibility, validity and reliability of video clip analysis performed by the clinicians. Sevent...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the safety and efficacy of ultrasound guided botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) injections into salivary glands for the treatment of sialorrhoea in patients with neurological disorders. METHODS The parotid and submandibular glands of 10 patients were injected with BTX-A using ultrasound guidance. Before injection, the baseline rate of salivation was assessed using a visu...

or ␦ (i.e ␣1 X), respectively, before the one letter amino acid code indicating the subunit type and the position in sequence). Sequence analysis has shown that resistance of certain species such as mongoose and cobra to ␣-BTX is correlated with mutations in this region (Bar-In comparison to Torpedo AChR, which is homolo-Rehovot 76100 Israel gous to muscle AChR, the neuronal AChR (␣7-homopen-ta...