Toxin injections made from a chemical produced by bacteria that temporarily paralyse muscle by acting on nerve impulse transmission. They produce reduction of hypertonicity by reversible denervation. Although this toxin exerts this effect on most nerve cells, it acts preferentially on cholinergic nerve endings. Dose-response experiments indicate that the vertebrate neuromuscular junction is the site that is most sensitive to its action. The toxin was first identified in 1897 as the cause of the type of food poisoning subsequently known as botulism, but it was only was in 1949 that botulinum toxin type A was shown to block signals at the neuromuscular junction.
See α-bungarotoxin (α-BTX), Cerebral palsy, Cholinergic neurotransmitter system, Denervation, Neuromuscular junction