A potentially lethal toxin produced by the bacterium CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM (see botulism). In tiny doses, botulinum toxin is used as a drug to control muscle spasms in some disorders (see blepharospasm; facial spasm). It is also sometimes injected into facial muscles to reduce visible wrinkles temporarily.
The toxin of the anaerobic bacterium CLOSTRIDIUM botulinum is now routinely used to treat focal DYSTONIA in adults. This includes blepharospasm (see EYE, DISORDERS OF), SPASMODIC TORTICOLLIS, muscular spasms of the face, squint and some types of tremor. Injected close to where the nerve enters the affected muscles, the toxin blocks nerve transmissions for up to four months, so relieving symptoms. The toxin is also used in cerebral palsy. Although very e?ective, there are many possible unwanted effects, especially if too high a dose is used or the injection is misplaced.
a powerful nerve toxin, produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, that has proved effective, in minute dosage, for the treatment of various conditions of muscle dysfunction, such as dystonic conditions (see dystonia), including *torticollis and spasm of the orbicularis muscle in patients with *blepharospasm, and spastic paralysis associated with cerebral palsy and stroke. It is also used for the treatment of severe *hyperhidrosis and the prevention of chronic migraine headaches. The toxin may also be used to treat *achalasia, being injected through an endoscope into the gastro-oesophageal sphincter, and is used in the bladder to treat urinary incontinence due to *detrusor overactivity (as in multiple sclerosis) that is resistant to other treatments. Side-effects include prolonged local muscle paralysis. Under the trade names Botox and Dysport it is widely used for the cosmetic treatment of facial wrinkles.
Health Encyclopedia