Therapeutic Approaches to the Treatment of Botulism
Abstract
In vitro experiments have been done on isolated phrenic nerve- hemidiaphragm preparations. The purpose of the experiments was twofold: firstly, to evaluate a host of drugs as potential botulinum neurotoxin antagonists; and secondly, to evaluate the possibility that botulinum neurotoxin is an ADP- ribosyltransferase. The drugs that were tested included aminopyridines, guanidine, calcium, theophylline, forskolin, isobutylmethylxanthine, and cholera toxin. Various of the drugs had effects on neuromuscular transmission, and some had narrow spectrum utility as clostridial toxin antagonists, but none had the broad spectrum utility that would be needed for a clinically useful drug. In related experiments, a series of studies were conducted to determine whether the toxins have ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. The data did not support the hypothesis, though additional work needs to be done.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA199226
Entities
People
- Lance L. Simpson
Organizations
- Thomas Jefferson University