Can Botulinum Lethal Toxin Turned to be Beneficial Substance?

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I'm still excited about botulinum toxin, since I know that botulinum toxin is a potent and deadly substance.

This substance produced by a kind of a rod bacteria that can exist in low or free oxygen, Clostridium botulinum.

Even though this kind of bacteria are very common in sample of water and soil throughout the world, the canned foods and honey also can be contaminated.

It was many years ago, especially in the under developing countries, This toxin was a killer that hard to overcome. Clostridium botulinum release toxin that able to kill human.

The early of symptoms of this toxin are fatigue, weak, blur eyes, and vertigo. 

Following by difficult to swallow and speak, also vomiting and diarrhea or constipation.

Then it can radiant to weakness in the neck and arms, and muscle in lower body.

This toxin can cause seizure and dead because it impacts nervous system. It can cause flaccid paralysis that leads to respiratory failure, because diaphragm muscle, and muscle related to breathing process becomes weak and paralyze.

As we know botulinum toxic have been identified as:

- Foodborne botulism. It occurs by consuming food that contaminate with this kind of bacteria or their spore. The spore can germinate and produce toxin too.

- Wound botulism. It could be caused by the wound infection. The open wound infected by the spores or bacteria.

- Infant botulism. The baby ingest the spore and then in the baby's gut bacteria grow and release toxin. It infect the baby under 6 months.

- Inhalation botulism, when the person inhaled the botulinum concentrate (aerosolized), It intents to biology weapon or bioterrorism.

Why does the toxin lethal and deadly? The toxin can cause the paralysis of peripheral neuromuscular junction, which is the junction between our nerve to the muscle.

The muscle or striated muscle will excited whenever the nerve release chemical substance acetylcholine.

Botulinum then inactive the protein that regulate release of acetylcholine. Because acetylcholine releasing is prevented by toxin, the muscle cannot excite anymore and becomes paralyze.

Good news that engineers turned this lethal toxin to beneficial substance. The purified protein of botulinum toxin when administered by injection into the muscle, it can cause local paralyze.

Based on the concepts, this toxin is used in pharmacology for certain disorders, and also for specifically anti-wrinkle.

Now, I understand that botulinum toxin can be used to cure and heal some diseases beside for cosmetic such as face rejuvenation.