Botulinum toxin



The Botulininum Toxin, commonly refereed to as Botox, comes in various types. Types for Cosmetic and commercial use are Types: Botulinum Type A, and Botulinum Type B. The various toxins range from toxicity affecting animals as well as affecting humans. Aside from It's ability to smooth out unwanted lines, its able to do a multitude of things. How does it do so? When injected to the area of treatment, the neurotoxin directly affect the interferes with with different neural transmissions allowing for temporary comfort in affected area.

History
The History of The Botulinum toxin came to be in the 19 century. None of the people during that time knew the life-threatening extent of eating poisoned food. An example of this was when Emperor Leo VI during the tenth Century sent out an edict banning the manufacturing of blood sausages. Early reports on intoxications with Atropa belladonna (a perennial herbaceous plant) described their patients to be suffering with delirium and hallucinations as well as food-bourne botulism: dilated pupils and fatal muscle paralysis. At the end of the eighteenth Century an outbreak in Southern Germany called “sausage poisoning” along with other outbreaks lead to early systematic botulinum toxin research. Justinus Kerner (1786-1862) was a German poet and district medical officer who published the first accurate descriptions of symptoms concerning food-bourne botulism during 1817 and 1822. Kerner was unsuccessful defining the “biological poison” called “sausage poison” or “fatty poison”. The bacterium that produces the toxin often caused poisoning by growing in improperly handled or prepared meat products receiving the name “sausage poison” or “fatty poison”. Kerner also discorded using the toxin for therapeutic proposes. In 1895, eighty years after Justinus Kerner’s work, a botulism outbreak erupted after a funeral dinner consisting of smoked ham in a small Belgian village of ellezelles led to the discovery of the pathogen Clostridium botulinum done by Emile Pierre van Ermengem, a professor of bacteriology in the university of ghent. The bacterium received its name from its pathological relation with sausages, the latin word for sausage being “botulus”. The modern day botulinum toxin was discovered by Alan B. Scott and Edward J. Schantz. P.T. Snipe and Hermann Sommer were able to purify the toxin for the first time In 1928. And In 1949, Arnold Burgen's group through experiments discovered how the botulinum toxin neuromuscular transmissions through decreased acetylcholine release.

Types
There are two main types to the Botulinum toxin: botulinum toxin A, and botulinum toxin B. However there are 7 neurotoxins altogether, types: A,B,C,C1,C2,D,E,F, and G. Human botulism is caused mainly from types A,B, and E however there are some rare cases of type F. Types C (C,C1,C2) as well as type D are know to cause toxicity in animals. All 7 different variations of the Botulinum Toxin while all distinctly stimulate the production of antibodies and combine specifically with them (antigenically) as well as deal with the immunological properties and actions of the toxin (serology) are all structurally similar. Each toxin contains individual potencies, requiring care assuring proper use to avoid medication errors. The FDA recently changed neurotoxins names intended to reinforce the various differentiation of each neurotoxin as well as to avoid medication error. Examples of the various names are : OnabotulinumtoxinA, AbobotulinumtoxinA, IncobotulinumtoxinA, and RimabotulinumtoxinB.

Advantages and disadvantages
Aside from the popular use of the toxin to reduce wrinkles and lines, there are many advantages to each toxin as well as disadvantages. there are various advantages to each toxin some including Temporary treatments in:

- smoothing out wrinkles

-improving discomfort relating to spastic symptoms

-Decreased spasticity, allowing smoother movement of body parts. in some cases allowing almost full use of the affected body part.

-reducing spastic hypertonia (uncontrollable muscle spasms) in the elbow, wrist and finger flexors of the upper limbs, and the hip adductors and ankle plantar flexors in the lower limbs.

-medically reduce perspiration

-relief of chronic migraines

-appear less “angry” giving a refreshed or well rested look

-treating cross eyes (strabismus)

-treatment of uncontrollable blinking (blepharospasm)

-treating upper motor neuron syndrome (having tight muscles, unable to stretch out) allowing patients to move and exercise.

-helping with cervical dystonia (neuromuscular disorder affecting the head and neck)

-Treating meige syndrome (having dystonia in both upper and lower halves of their face)

-treating Benign essential blepharospasms (dystonic hyperactivity in certain muscles (orbicularis oculi)

-treating Pharyngolarygeal dystonias

-writers cramp and other occupational cramps (dystonic hyperactivity of forearm, hand, and arm muscles)

-diabetic neuropathy

-excessive salivation

-Parkinson disease

-depression While many advantages of the toxin exist, there are also certain risks to consider. Disadvantages include:

-failure after initial success

-May effect other areas untreated

-new pain from shrinkage of the affected muscle

-difficulty swallowing or speaking

-droopy eyelids

-blurred vision or over production of tears

-muscle weakness

-redness, irritation, and welling at injection site

-dry mouth

-headaches, dizziness

-nausea, and fever

-rashes

-the effects are temporary, lasting often up to 3-4 months requiring another does of the toxin

Video
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