Do nerve terminal sprouts contribute to functional recovery from botulinum neurotoxin A?

Botulism is a life-threatening neuroparalytic condition caused by botulinum neurotoxin, which is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, a Gram-positive, spore-forming, obligate anaerobe.In adults, the toxin enters the body in different ways: in foodborne botulism, the preformed toxin is absorbed in the intestine. In wound botulism, spores grow in injured tissue and release the toxin into the blood. Infant botulism differs mechanistically from adult forms. In infants, botulism commonly...

In the CNS, neurogenesis, the birth of new neurons from stem cells, is limited to the hippocampus in adults. In other regions of the brain and spinal cord, neurogenesis is almost non-existent due to inhibitory influences from neuroglia, especially oligodendrocytes, and the absence of growth-stimulating cues. The myelin produced by oligodendrocytes in the CNS inhibits neuronal regeneration. Furthermore, astrocytes proliferate rapidly after neuronal damage, forming scar tissue that physically...