Botulism’s deadly paralysis may be reversed by novel treatment
A novel treatment for botulism that may tame the toxin with therapeutics that have the potential to reverse the deadly paralysis — all coming out of Boston Children’s Hospital. The research on mice is being called a “botulism breakthrough” by Science Daily, the first to publish the work.
With fewer than 1,000 confirmed cases a year in the United States, botulism is a rare poisoning caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. It can be fatal and requires immediate emergency medical care.
Botulism can occur in infants, be spread in food, or infect a wound. Symptoms include difficulty swallowing or speaking, facial weakness, and paralysis. The paralysis usually affects muscles used for breathing, making it necessary for patients to be placed on ventilators.
Toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum can become fatal once they get into the neurons because at that point they’ve not been treatable.
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