Sandbox Reserved 475: Difference between revisions
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== '''Medical Applications''' == | |||
=== Drugs and Toxins === | |||
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'''nAChRs''' are the target sites of by many toxins such as those present in snake venom such as α-bungarotoxin. These receptors can also be blocked by curare, hexamethonium as well as neuromuscular blocking agents such as those used in medical anesthesia. Neuromuscular blocking agents bind reversibly to nicotinic receptors in the neuromuscular junction. | |||
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A popular neurotoxin approved by the FDA was Botox Cosmetic which was used as a treatment for moderate to severe glabellar lines. Botox acts very similarly to the neuromuscular blocking agents in that it binds at the postsynaptic cleft to the receptors of the motor end plate and relaxes the two major muscle contractions in the forehead. Botox Cosmetic (botulinum toxin type A) blocks neuromuscular transmission by binding to acceptor sites on motor nerve terminals, entering the nerve terminals, and inhibiting the release of acetylcholine, resulting in paralysis. This inhibition occurs as the neurotoxin cleaves SNAP-25, a protein integral to the successful docking and release of acetylcholine from vesicles situated within nerve endings. | |||
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=== Diseases === | |||
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'''Myasthenia gravis''' is a disease where the body's antibodies actually target the acetylcholine receptors at the motor end plate and prevents correct functionality leading to muscular weakness. In a similar case, '''Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome''', is another rare autoimmune disease where the body's antibodies target the voltage-gated calcium channels at the presynaptic site and prevent electric signals from reaching the muscles that are in conjunction with the neuron. | |||
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== '''References''' == | == '''References''' == | ||
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