Botulinum Neurotoxins

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.

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.

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.

Three days in Madison have thoroughly modified my view on clostridial neurotoxins. While still realizing the numerous activating, modifying and protective inputs, I cannot judge the meaningfulness of the meeting impartially. Neither may the reader expect a complete summary of all presentations. Collected in this volume, they speak for themselves without requiring an arbiter. Instead I shall write down my very personal opinions as a researcher who has studied clostridial neurotoxins for nearly 25 years. Comparable conferences have been rare during this time. A comprehensive symposium 4 on C. botulinum neurotoxins has been organized at Ft. Detrick. International conferences on tetanus have been held regularly under the auspices of the Wodd Health Organization. One or maximally two days of these meetings have been devoted to tetanus toxin and its actions whereas the sponsor and the majority of the participants have been interested mainly in epidemiology, prevention and treatment of tetanus as a disease (see refs. 5,6). Some aspects of clostridial neurotoxins have been addressed in the context of bacterial toxins, in particular in the biennial European workshops. 1-3,7,8 The Madison meeting differed from the previous ones in three aspects. First, it covered both tetanus and botulinum neurotoxins. The fusion was justified because of their huge similarities in primary structure, in their mode of action and in their cellular targets. Second, the meeting was not limited to toxins but drew some lines on which modern neurobiology might proceed.

Botulinum Neurotoxin and Tetanus Toxin covers the mechanism of action, pathogenesis, and treatment of clostridial neurotoxins. The book is organized into four parts encompassing 18 chapters that discuss the origin, structure, pharmacology, toxicology, immunology, assays, and clinical issues of botulinum and tetanus neurotoxins. The introductory part of the book discusses the discovery and production of neurotoxins in various strains of Clostridium bacteria. This text also describes how specific bacteriophages and plasmids mediate the pathogenicity of some types of Clostridium botulinum and Clostridium tetani. The subsequent part provides an overview of issues related to toxin binding, including toxins that may serve as models for botulinum and tetanus neurotoxins. Discussions on the peripheral and central aspects of poisoning transport in the central nervous system and on the antagonistic drugs for clostridial neurotoxins are provided. The third part of the book addresses the antibodies against botulinum neurotoxin. Bioassay in mice and highly sensitive immunoassays, such as reversed passive hemagglutination, reversed passive latex agglutination, radioimmunoassay, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, are presented. The concluding part covers the animal models for these toxins and discusses the diagnosis and treatment of botulism and tetanus in human. The clinical use of Clostridium botulinum toxin type A in ocular and neuromuscular disease is also examined. This book will be of value to protein chemists, microbiologists, virologists, pharmacologists, immunologists, and clinicians.

Currently, there are tremendous advances being made in understanding the basic science of both the structure and function of botulinum neurotoxins. This knowledge is opening up opportunities in regard to both therapeutic uses and treatment and protection options for civil and bio-defense applications. This volume fully evaluates the status of neurotoxin research and exploitation. The book is a multi-authored collection of chapters written by the leading authorities responsible for the current scientific and clinical research that is advancing the understanding and exploitation of the neurotoxins and is both up to date and authoritative.

Currently, there are tremendous advances being made in understanding the basic science of both the structure and function of botulinum neurotoxins. This knowledge is opening up opportunities in regard to both therapeutic uses and treatment and protection options for civil and bio-defense applications. This volume fully evaluates the status of neurotoxin research and exploitation with a focus on clinical application. The book is a multi-authored collection of chapters written by the leading authorities responsible for the current scientific and clinical research that is advancing the understanding and exploitation of the neurotoxins and is both up to date and authoritative.

As little as two decades ago, deliberately injecting botulinum toxin into patients would have seemed foolhardy at best and criminal at worst. The increased clinical use of botulinum toxins has expanded the body of knowledge available on the structure and function of these proteins. This knowledge can be applied to topics as varied as therapies based on the endopeptidase activity of the toxins, vaccine development, protection against botulism, and vectors for neuronal drug delivery. Based on recent scientific and clinical information from top international authorities, Treatments from Toxins: The Therapeutic Potential of Clostridial Neurotoxins reviews the status of current research and development and identifies significant developments. Drawing on their vast experience in this field, the editors present the basic background of the bacteriology and genetics of the neurotoxigenic clostridia, a history of the discovery of the neurotoxins, and an overview of the tetanus and botulism diseases. The chapters detailing common medical applications of the toxins cover side effects and novel uses, including neuronal drug delivery strategies, and provide a fresh look at what can still be achieved. They also explore the toxins as potential threat agents and the advent of the therapeutic use of botulinum toxins. Highlighting the pitfalls, successes, and challenges that exist when engineering complex proteins, the book brings together the clinical and theoretical worlds. It presents a broad overview of the current status of botulinum research and its clinical applications.