2023-12-18 19:50:39
The properties of botox are known worldwide for their anti-wrinkle properties. But other applications of botulinum toxin A1, its scientific name, are useful in medicine, notably to treat spasms or slow the development of stomach cancer. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in the canton of Aargau have now discovered that botox could potentially relieve pain more quickly than current medications.
The scientists specify that they discovered this new property somewhat by chance. Their goal was first to inject a certain type of protein into the toxin to mitigate its effects. But experiments showed that the action of botox on the nerves was on the contrary accelerated during the tests.
“We initially believed that we had made a mistake,” says Oneda Leka, author of the study, in a press release published this Monday. Other tests carried out on mice confirmed this surprising finding. This result, as unexpected as it may be, opens up new treatment possibilities for various conditions, the researchers believe. “In the field of pain medicine, an additive that accelerates the onset of effect of a highly effective long-term medication could be interesting,” comments Richard Kammerer from the PSI Biomolecular Research Laboratory.
A quickly fatal dosage
In every treatment involving botox, it is essential to carefully use a very precise dosage of this medication, recalls the Paul Scherrer Institute, because it is the most powerful natural neurotoxin there is. It can cause dangerous paralysis, better known as botulism. There is a risk of food contamination by this toxin. The disease remains rare: over the last ten years, only one or two cases per year have been recorded in Switzerland. It only takes 100 nanograms of botox injected intravenously to kill a human being, because the toxin particularly paralyzes the respiratory muscles.
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