The Chemo-sero-therapeutic Research Institute

Tokushima University

Japan As Represented by Director-general of National Institute of Infectious Diseases

Juridical Foundation the Chemo-sero-therapeutic Research Institute

The University of Tokushima

Tetsuhiro Harakawa

Sachio Okuda

Yasushi Torii

Motohide Takahashi

Yoshitaka Goto

Miho Shinmura

Shunji Kozaki

Hirotoshi Nakano

Ryuji Kaji

Shunji Kosaki

Takashi Sakamoto

Setsuji Ishida

A novel type Atoxin preparation is provided. A neuromuscular transmission blocking agent comprising as an active ingredient a highly purified type Atoxin fromas infant botulism pathogen and a medicament for treating a disease with a muscle overactivity comprising as an active ingredient said toxin. In particular, the medicament of the present invention, as compared to the conventional knowntoxin preparations, has rapid efficacy of potential and is less diffusive and thus, having a broader safety margin, may be used as therapeutic medicament for decreasing local, muscle overactivity in a disease with a muscle overactivity.

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The present invention relates to a method for quantitatively measuring the muscular relaxing activity of a neurotoxin. Specifically, based on an extent of the activity of muscular relaxation of a neurotoxin from bacteria of, the present invention relates to a method for quantification of the efficacy (potential and/or diffusion reaction) of a neurotoxin comprising the following steps of: (a) administering a neurotoxin to the hind leg muscle of one of hind legs of a non-human mammal; (b) applying electric stimulus to said non-human mammal; (c) measuring a compound muscle action potential (CMAP) by contraction of said hind leg muscle to which the neurotoxin is administered and/or of the hind leg muscle of the other hind leg to which the neurotoxin is not administered; and (d) taking amplitude data from the compound muscle action potential (CMAP) obtained by the measurement in step (c) and analyzing an extent of a decrease in amplitude to thereby quantify the efficacy of the muscular relaxing activity by the neurotoxin. In contrast to the mouse LDcurrently used as a potential unit of a botulinum toxin which is measurable at a level of only several units, the quantification method of the efficacy of a neurotoxin of the present invention allows for measurement at a level of as low as 0.01 to 1 unit and hence is a method with a high sensitivity, reproducibility and accuracy.

Method for quantification of neurotoxin

Growing community of inventors

Kumamoto, Japan

Tetsuhiro Harakawa