New Research at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Kinesiology suggests that Botulinium type-A toxin (BTX-A) passes easily to surrounding muscles and is more difficult to control once injected than many people suspect. The paper will be published in an upcoming issue of the
Journal of Biomechanics and is posted on the journal's "In Press" website at:
http://www.jbiomech.com.
The research team was led by Dr. Walter Herzog, who received the American Society of Biomechanists’ highest honour for research last year. Herzog says that the results are interesting and have relevance for consumers and physicians who use product made out of the toxin.
“The injection doses used in this study are similar to those used in human injection protocols for the soleus muscle, both for spastic cerebral palsy in children and hemi-plegic adults secondary to stroke,” says Herzog.
Herzog’s lab was trying to use the product in ongoing research that examines how muscle weakness contributes to joint degeneration. The idea was to use botulinium toxin as an agent to temporarily paralyze muscles. What they found is that the toxin they used passed easily into the surrounding muscles and weakened all the muscles in the area.
“The main reason that this is significant,” says Herzog, “is that many people believe that when Botox is injected into a single muscle it stays there. This research shows that it is not that easy to control. As therapeutic applications of BTX-A in humans increase, it is important that we understand more about the functional affects of this product which, at the end of the day, is a toxin.”
Source: University of Calgary
Related stories:
European agency warns of possible Botox side effects: report
Months after US authorities sounded the alarm, European officials are warning of dangerous possible side effects from the wrinkle-smoothing injection Botox, according to a German news report.
Scientists determine drug target for the most potent botulinum neurotoxin
Botulinum neurotoxin – responsible for the deadly food poisoning disease botulism and for the beneficial effects of smoothing out facial wrinkles – can also be used as a dreaded biological weapon. When ingested or inhaled, less than a billionth of an ounce can cause muscle paralysis and eventual death. Although experimental vaccines administered prior to exposure can inhibit the destructive action of this neurotoxin – the most deadly protein known to humans – no effective pharmacological treatment exists.
RING finger protein 5 may guide treatment for muscle disease in older adults
Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have discovered a new player in the development of a disorder called Sporadic Inclusion Body Myositis (sIBM). sIBM is a muscle disease that affects predominantly older men, causing muscles to gradually weaken and waste away. The number of people living with sIBM is unknown, but it is the most common muscle disease among those over the age of 50, and due to its unfamiliarity, it is probably underdiagnosed. This discovery provides a potential avenue for future diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities for this disease.
An 'attractive' man-machine interface
Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have developed a new “nanobiotechnology” that enables magnetic control of events at the cellular level. They describe the technology, which could lead to finely-tuned but noninvasive treatments for disease, in the January issue of
Nature Nanotechnology (published online January 3).
Compounds show significant promise against potential bioweapon toxins
Because of the high cost and limited applicability of currently available treatments, the newly identified compounds have the potential to fill the existing therapy gap and to provide protection against a bioterrorism attack using the toxin.
Study reveals molecular basis of botulism toxin's deadly activity
In the study, the scientists reveal the mysterious structural basis of the remarkably strong interaction that botulinum toxins form with nerve cells, a union so robust that a single toxin molecule can completely incapacitate a nerve cell. Because of this action, even in minute quantities these toxins are potentially deadly, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis, and sometimes respiratory failure.
Seeing a neurotoxin's deadly grip
Two Howard Hughes Medical Institute research teams working independently have discovered new information about how the botulinum neurotoxin shuts down neurons with deadly efficiency. By providing detailed views of the toxin plugged into its neuronal receptor, the new studies could aid efforts to engineer specialized versions of the powerful neurotoxin that is used to treat a wide array of medical problems.
Babies with Delayed Gross Motor Skills Need Specific Early Intervention
If babies are not achieving specific movement skills, such as rolling or sitting, by a certain age, it is a sign that something could be wrong. Currently, more emphasis is now put on diagnosing problems in children at very young ages. A University of Missouri researcher was part of a study that concluded it is not just early intervention alone that helps, but rather targeting exactly what needs to be improved.