A Novel Rabbit Spirometry Model of Type E Botulism and Its Use for the Evaluation of Postsymptom Antitoxin Efficacy.

ABSTRACT: Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs), the most poisonous substances known in nature, pose significant concern to health authorities. The only approved therapeutic for botulism is antitoxin. While administered to patients only after symptom onset, antitoxin efficacy is evaluated in animals mostly in relation to time postintoxication regardless of symptoms. This is most likely due to the difficulty in measuring early symptoms of botulism in animals. In this study, a rabbit spirometry model was developed to quantify early respiratory symptoms of type E botulism that were further used as a trigger for treatment. Impaired respiration, in the form of a reduced minute volume, was detected as early as 18.1 ± 2.9 h after intramuscular exposure to 2 rabbit 50% lethal doses (LD50) of BoNT serotype E (BoNT/E

SUBMITTER: Diamant E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5913968 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature