Purpose: Tetanus toxin can cause localized neuromuscular weakness, but it also can produce systemic tetany. The action of tetanus toxin on the orbicularis muscle has not been studied in animals immunized to prevent systemic tetany. Our objective was to determine whether tetanus toxin could be used to treat orbicularis oculi muscle spasms.
Methods: We analyzed the clinical, electrophysiologic, and histopathologic effects of tetanus toxin injected into the orbicularis oculi muscle of rabbits with passive immunity to tetanus toxin. In six rabbits, the orbicularis oculi function in both eyes was assessed clinically, and the baseline orbicularis oculi muscle action potential was measured physiologically with electromyography (EMG). The rabbits then were immunized against tetanus toxin with tetanus immunoglobulin for immediate and definitive immunity. Tetanus toxin was injected into the left orbicularis oculi muscles, leaving the right eyes as controls. Ten days later, the rabbits were again assessed by clinical examination and with EMGs on both the injected side and the noninjected side. The animals were killed at 14 days, and the orbicularis muscle was removed from both sides. The injected and control tissues were examined microscopically for signs of neuromuscular denervation.
Results: All six rabbits showed weakness in eye closure on the side injected with tetanus toxin. In addition, four rabbits developed complete ear ptosis on the tetanus toxin injected side because of spread of the toxin to adjacent ear muscles. EMGs showed both a denervation of the orbicularis oculi muscle and a poor blink potential on the side injected with tetanus toxin. Histopathologic studies of the orbicularis oculi muscle injected with tetanus toxin showed angulation of both slow and fast types of muscle fibers compatible with neuromuscular denervation.
Conclusions: Tetanus toxin can cause localized orbicularis oculi weakness, as documented clinically, physiologically, and microscopically, without producing systemic tetany in immunized rabbits. Tetanus toxin may have a potential application in the treatment of blepharospasm and hemifacial spasm.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00002341-200003000-00004 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
From Crisis to Cure: The Resilient Recovery of a Patient With Tetanus.
Cureus
December 2024
Internal Medicine, Madras Medical College and Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai, IND.
Tetanus is a severe neurological condition triggered by the toxin of , resulting in extreme muscle stiffness and spasms. Although vaccination can prevent it, without treatment, tetanus carries a high risk of death due to respiratory failure and autonomic disturbances. This case report describes a 24-year-old Indian male who developed tetanus after branding (a traditional procedure for jaundice in rural India) on his wrist.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF25-Hydroxycholesterol modulates synaptic vesicle endocytosis at the mouse neuromuscular junction.
Pflugers Arch
January 2025
Laboratory of Biophysics of Synaptic Processes, Kazan Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, FRC Kazan Scientific Center of RAS, 2/31 Lobachevsky St, Kazan, 420111, RT, Russia.
Many synaptic vesicles undergo exocytosis in motor nerve terminals during neuromuscular communication. Endocytosis then recovers the synaptic vesicle pool and presynaptic membrane area. The kinetics of endocytosis may shape neuromuscular transmission, determining its long-term reliability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn Unexpected Case of Generalized Tetanus.
Cureus
December 2024
Intensive Care Unit, Unidade Local de Saúde da Região de Aveiro, Aveiro, PRT.
Tetanus is a disease of the nervous system caused by a toxin produced by , an anaerobe found in high concentrations in the soil. The occurrence of tetanus is related to contaminated traumatic wounds, and most patients have had some failure in their immunization. However, there are rare case reports of generalized tetanus in patients with proper vaccination schemes who failed to receive appropriate prophylaxis after high-risk exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExpression of Recombinant Clostridial Neurotoxin by .
Microorganisms
December 2024
Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Tetanus neurotoxins (TeNT) and botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are closely related ~150 kDa protein toxins that together comprise the group of clostridial neurotoxins (CNTs) expressed by various species of . While TeNT is expressed as a single polypeptide, BoNTs are always produced alongside multiple non-toxic proteins that form a stabilizing complex with BoNT and are encoded in a conserved toxin gene cluster. It is unknown how evolved without a similar gene cluster and why complex-free TeNT is secreted as a stable and soluble protein by , whereas complexing proteins appear to be essential for BoNT stability in culture supernatants of .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPassive Immunisation in the Treatment of Infectious Diseases Related to Highly Potent Bacterial Toxins.
Biomedicines
December 2024
National Institute of Public Health NIH-National Research Institute, Chocimska 24, 00-791 Warsaw, Poland.
The discovery of microbial toxins as the primary factors responsible for disease manifestations and the discovery that these toxins could be neutralised by antitoxins are linked to the birth of immunology. In the late 19th century, the serum or plasma of animals or patients who had recovered from infectious diseases or who had been immunised with a relevant antigen began to be used to treat or prevent infections. Before the advent of widespread vaccination campaigns, antitoxins played a key role in the treatment and prevention of diseases such as diphtheria and tetanus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!