Clostridial Neurotoxins
Clostridial Neurotoxins

Author: Cesare Montecucco

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-11-11

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 3642851738

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Tetanus has been known from the very beginning of medical literature since it was first described by Hyppocrates of Cos in the fifth century B.C. For 24 centuries it was considered a neuro logical disease until the breakthrough of CARLE and RATIONE (1884) who demonstrated its infectious etiology. Following the establishment of purified cultures of Clostridium tetani(KITASATO 1889), FABER (1890), and TIZZONI and CATIANI (1890) demon strated that the disease is actually an intoxication caused by a proteic neurotoxin. This toxin was shown by BRUSHCHETIINI (1892) to move retroaxonally and to act at the spinal cord level. Soon thereafter VAN ERMENGEN (1897) demonstrated that botu lism is also due to intoxication with a protein toxin produced by bacteria of the genus Clostridium. These bacteria and their spores and ubiquitous, and the majority of them do not produce neurotoxins. The selective advantage of producing such potent toxin is still a matter of speculation (see Popoff, this volume). The next major advance was the discovery that tetanus neurotoxin 1 can be converted by formaldehyde treatment to a nonpathogenic but still fully immunogenic form, and that this can be used successfully as a vaccine to prevent tetanus (RAMON and DESCOMBEY 1925). Similar vaccines (toxoids) can be prepared with botulism neurotoxins (see MiDDLEBROOK and BROWN, this volume). The prevention oftetanus by vaccination (see Galatzka and Gasse, this volume) is one of the great successes of basic research coupled with an efficient public medicine service.

Botulinum Neurotoxins
Botulinum Neurotoxins

Author: Andreas Rummel

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-01-29

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783642448898

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The extremely potent substance botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) has attracted much interest in diverse fields. Originally identified as cause for the rare but deadly disease botulism, military and terrorist intended to misuse this sophisticated molecule as biological weapon. This caused its classification as select agent category A by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention and the listing in the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. Later, the civilian use of BoNT as long acting peripheral muscle relaxant has turned this molecule into an indispensable pharmaceutical world wide with annual revenues >$1.5 billion. Also basic scientists value the botulinum neurotoxin as molecular tool for dissecting mechanisms of exocytosis. This book will cover the most recent molecular details of botulinum neurotoxin, its mechanism of action as well as its detection and application.

Clostridial Diseases of Animals
Clostridial Diseases of Animals

Author: Francisco A. Uzal

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2016-05-31

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 1118728408

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Clostridial Diseases of Animals is the first book to focus on clostridial diseases in domestic and wild animals, offering a comprehensive reference on these common diseases. Provides a single resource for all aspects of clostridial diseases Presents current, comprehensive information with a focus on clinical relevance Covers each disease in depth, including etiology, epidemiology, clinics, gross pathology, histopathology, diagnostics, diagnostic criteria, prophylaxis, control, and treatment Written by the world-leading experts in the field of clostridial diseases in animals Offers photographs and summary tables to support the concepts discussed in the text and aid in recognition

Botulinum Toxin E-Book
Botulinum Toxin E-Book

Author: Joseph Jankovic

Publisher: Elsevier Health Sciences

Published: 2009-02-18

Total Pages: 527

ISBN-13: 1437711197

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The new, therapeutically-focused Botulinum Toxin presents comprehensive, cross-disciplinary guidance on current practices, covering more than 100 non-cosmetic conditions that occur in neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, pain medicine, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, urology, orthopedics, and surgery. International contributors review the current understanding of the biology and cellular mechanisms along with relevant research so you can easily apply them to the pathophysiology of the numerous disorders that botulinum toxin is used to treat—such as botulinum toxin applications for the treatment of cranial-cervical dystonias, motor disorders in cerebral palsy, bruxism and temporomandibular disorders, headache, overactive bladder, chronic pelvic pain syndromes, arthritis joint pain, and wound healing. With discussions of the latest in approved treatment practices as well as new and emerging uses, you’ll get in-depth management guidance on the application of the toxin. Provides clinical applications of botulinum toxin for over 100 disorders for immediate access and easy reference during practice and treatment. Covers a broad array of hot topics, including botulinum toxin applications for the treatment of cranial-cervical dystonias, motor disorders in cerebral palsy, bruxism and temporomandibular disorders, headache, overactive bladder, chronic pelvic pain syndromes, arthritis joint pain, and wound healing. Focuses on approved uses with expert advice on thoroughly tested applications but also discusses new and emerging applications to expose you to additional treatment options. Presents the most comprehensive and up-to-date material available so you get all the information you need from this one resource. Offers the cross-disciplinary guidance of the best world-class expertise through an authoritative, international group of authors who demonstrate the applications of botulinum toxin across various specialties.

Biological Toxins and Bioterrorism
Biological Toxins and Bioterrorism

Author: P. Gopalakrishnakone

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-01-22

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789400758681

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Biological toxins are an important part of our world, a reality with which we need to cope, so in parallel with understanding their mechanisms of action and thereby improving our fundamental knowledge, there are successful efforts to utilize them as therapeutics against some debilitating human and animal diseases. In view of the complexity of different types of biotoxins and the broad range of toxin structure, physiology, utility, and countermeasures including regulatory issues, it was thus aimed to compile a book on biotoxins and bioweapons. This reference work in the Toxinology handbook series gathers together knowledge from around the globe about naturally inspired and manufactured biological weapons. The authors describe how they work; how authorities may detect their presence, prevent their use, and diagnose their impacts; and the means by which medical and paramedical professionals may treat victims. Also described are how they have been used to further our knowledge and what insights they have given us into evolutionary and physiological processes. Finally, it is also discussed how these toxins can be used as therapeutics and what the implications of such therapeutics are to their use as biothreat agents. This volume provides a reference accessible to scientists, educators, and medical experts alike with an interest in biotoxins, focusing on the major toxins used as bioweapons. Regulatory agencies will also benefit from the information provided in this book. Some in the intended audience may need to understand how they elicit their effects and how we can defend ourselves against them. Others may be interested in the sometimes colorful histories that surround this subset of biotoxins that can be and, in some cases, have been used as weapons.

Botulinum Neurotoxins and Nervous System
Botulinum Neurotoxins and Nervous System

Author: Siro Luvisetto

Publisher: MDPI

Published: 2020-11-06

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 303943456X

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This book collects 25 scientific articles from laboratories around the world, all of which use botulinum neurotoxins as the main protagonists of their studies. The use of botulinum neurotoxin in medicine, following its ability to inhibit the effects of various disorders of different etiology on the human organism, constitutes the main topic of each article presented here. This book, which is aimed at both students and medical professionals, attempts to summarize current knowledge about the use of botulinum toxin as a therapeutic agent in many diseases, ranging from spasticity to tremor, form motor dysfunction after stroke to neuropathic pain, from hyperactive muscle to migraine, and so on. Thanks to its simplified writing, accessible to an audience who may not be familiar with the mysteries of science, readers will get new insights into this biological toxin and its multiple applications, not simply relegated to its historical use to correct of face wrinkles. Both review and research articles are presented, not only concerning animal studies, but also clinical reports. This book will provide an up-to-date picture of the state-of-the-art of the possible development of novel applications of botulinum neurotoxins for future therapeutic purposes.

Bacterial Protein Toxins
Bacterial Protein Toxins

Author: K. Aktories

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-14

Total Pages: 713

ISBN-13: 3662059711

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In recent years remarkable progress has been accomplished with respect to our knowledge about bacterial protein toxins. This refers especially to structural aspects of protein toxins but also holds true for genetics, molecular biology and biochemical mechanisms underlying the action of toxins. This volume covers the very current and exciting aspects of up-to-date bacterial toxicology and comprehensively reviews the most important bacterial protein toxins such as the intracellular acting toxins which exhibit enzyme activity, as well as those toxins that interact with cell plasma membranes by damaging the membranes (pore formation) or stimulating cell receptors (superantigens). This is the most current reference work on these important bacterial protein toxins, which are presented from the point of view of different disciplines such as pharmacology, microbiology, cell biology and protein chemistry.

Handbook of Neurotoxicology
Handbook of Neurotoxicology

Author: Edward J. Massaro

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2001-11-12

Total Pages: 658

ISBN-13: 1592591329

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Neurotoxicology is a broad and burgeoning field of research. Its growth in recent years can be related, in part, to increased interest in and concern with the fact that a growing number of anthropogenic agents with neurotoxic potential, including pesticides, lead, mercury, and the polytypic bypro ducts of combustion and industrial production, continue to be spewed into and accumulate in the environment. In addition, there is great interest in natural products, including toxins, as sources of therapeutic agents. Indeed, it is well known that many natural toxins of broadly differing structure, produced or accumulated for predatory or defensive purposes, and toxic agents, accumulated incidentally by numerous species, function to perturb nervous tissue. Components of some of these toxins have been shown to be useful therapeutic agents and/or research reagents. Unfor tunately, the environmental accumulation of some neurotoxic ants of anthropogenic ori gin, especially pesticides and metals, has resulted in incidents of human poisoning, some of epidemic proportion, and high levels of morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, an increasing incidence of neurobehavioral disorders, some with baffling symptoms, is confronting clinicians. It is not clear whether this is merely the result of increased vigi lance and/or improved diagnostics or a consequence of improved health care. In any case, the role of exposure to environmental and occupational neurotoxic ants in the etiology of these phenomena, as well as neurodegenerative diseases, is coming under increasing scrutiny and investigation.