(Ebook) Botulinum Toxin Therapy by Scott M. Whitcup (Editor), Mark Hallett (Editor) ISBN 9783030663056, 9783030663063, 3030663051, 303066306X

(Ebook) Botulinum Toxin Therapy by Scott M. Whitcup (Editor), Mark Hallett (Editor) ISBN 9783030663056, 9783030663063, 3030663051, 303066306X

Our primary goal in putting this book together is to provide an updated review of
the science of botulinum toxin therapy to help basic scientists, clinical researchers,
and practitioners in the study and use of currently available and future neurotoxins.
Our hope is that these chapters provide both a detailed scientific description of the
field and a practical guide to applying science. But there are a couple of subplots to
Botulinum Toxin Therapy that make the story both fascinating and applicable to
other medical therapies. One is that an incredibly potent and lethal substance can be
studied and applied for beneficial purposes. The potential medical uses of botulinum
toxin were recognized well over a century before their potential use as biological
weapons. Fortunately for the patients who have benefited from their medical use,
biological weapons programs have been largely abandoned or curtailed allowing the
manufacture and use of botulinum toxins in research labs and medical practices for
societal good. The second interesting part of the story is the importance of clinician
scientists in the progress of medical science. Justinus Kerner was a physician and
poet who studied cases of food poisoning in the early 1800s in Germany. He not only
published the first case history of botulism but also hypothesized on the potential
medical uses of the toxin including movement disorders and hypersecretion of body
fluids, both approved medical indications for botulinum toxins today. Advancement
in the field of medical toxin therapy will require both skilled basic scientists and
dedicated and astute clinicians, and hopefully, as potential patients, we may all
benefit.