Botulinum toxin/botulism

BotuNsm toxin, botulin (botulinum toxin). Botulism is today a very infrequently occurring form of food poisoning by B., a metabolite of Clostridium botulinum. This rod-like bacterium develops anaerobically in conserved meat products, occasionally also in conserved vegetable or fish products as a result of an inadequate addition of salt or (in case of fish) of inadequate acidification. B. consists of a single polypeptide chain with a molecular mass of ca. 150000.7 types of... 

Botulism is a disease caused by ingestion of foods contaminated with Clostridium botulinum (food-borne botulism) or, very rarely, by wound infection (wound botulism) or colonization of the intestinal tract with Clostridium botulinum (infant botulism). The toxins block the release of acetylcholine. Botulism is characterized by generalized muscular weakness, which first affects eye and throat muscles and later extends to all skeletal muscles. Flaccid paralysis can lead to respiratory failure. 

C. botulinum toxins cause botulism. They are among the most toxic substances known. A lethal dose for humans is 1 microgram (a millionth of a gram). In a... 

Just as too much acetylcholine activity can be a problem, so can too little. Botulinum toxin is a mixture of eight proteins that act to inhibit the release of acetylcholine. This toxin is the product of the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulimm. Ingestion of this toxin causes the life-threatening food poisoning known as botulism. 

Botulism is most commonly caused by ingestion of a neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum in improperly canned food. Poisoning may also occur after wound contamination with the organism. Infant botulism may occur when spores of the organism germinate and manufacture the toxin in the intestinal tract of infants. Botulinum toxin works by inhibiting ACh release at all cholinergic synapses. 

Botulism A (Clostridium botulinum toxin) Bacteria— food (particularly improperly canned foods), wound, and infantile 1-5 days No Standard Descending muscle paralysis, ptosis (drooping upper eyelids), blurred vision/ diplopia Fatal about 4-6 days nonfatal several months Aggressive resp support, supportive care trivalent and heptavalent antitoxin... 

Injection of botulinum toxin is a rather innovative way to control localized muscle hyperexcitability. Botulinum toxin is a purified version of the toxin that causes botulism. Systemic doses of this toxin can be extremely dangerous or fatal because botulinum toxin inhibits the release of acetylcholine from presynaptic terminals at the skeletal neuromuscular junction. Loss of presynaptic acetylcholine release results in paralysis of the muscle fiber supplied by that terminal. Systemic dissemination of botulinum toxin can therefore cause widespread paralysis, including loss of respiratory muscle function. Injection into specific muscles, however, can sequester the toxin within these muscles, thus producing localized effects that are beneficial in certain forms of muscle hyperexcitability. 

Toxins such as botulinum toxin (the causative agent in botulism) may also be introduced to a target population. One training manual produced by al-Qaeda members includes references to producing ricin, for example, and other improvised toxins derived from plants and bacteria. These recipes, however, seemed geared more toward individual assassination than a mass casualty attack (Anonymous, 2001). 

Botulism is a neuroparalytic, primarily foodborne illness first described in 1897 (GDC, 1998). The disease is caused by a toxin produced by the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Although botulism is rare, it can kill rapidly and foodborne botulism is a public health emergency carrying significant risk for widespread disease and death, as potentially preventable deaths may occur if the source of botulism is not discovered and eliminated. There are classically four major types of botulism foodborne botulism, infantile botulism, wound botulism, and intestinal botulism. 

The form with which most of the public is familiar is foodborne botulism. There are approximately 30 cases of foodborne botulism reported in the United States each year, most of which are related to home processing of foods. The botulinum toxin produced by C. botulinum is actually a group of distinct toxins with similar paralytic effects on the neurologic system. Botulinum toxin is the most poisonous substance known to mankind less than one microgram is a fatal dose for an adult (Arnon et al., 2001). 

The idea of a bioterrorist attack involving botulism stems largely from the extreme lethality of the botulinum toxin. Unsuccessful attempts have already been made to aerosolize botulinum toxin by a Japanese cult between 1990 and 1995. The United States... 

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