Tetrodotoxin: From Poison to Powerful Tool
@article{Blankenship2015TetrodotoxinFP, title={Tetrodotoxin: From Poison to Powerful Tool}, author={James E. Blankenship}, journal={Perspectives in Biology and Medicine}, year={2015}, volume={19}, pages={509 - 526} }
The history of tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a revealing lesson in the means by which modern biomedical researchers bring their skills to bear on the solution of a serious health hazard. More than this, an account of the study of tetrodotoxin illustrates how application of the scientific method transformed this compound from a menacing poison to a very powerful analytical tool, providing unique insights into biophysical and neurophysiological phenomena. Kao [1] earlier provided a detailed review of the…
24 Citations
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In a rabbit model, TTX is a long-acting topical anesthetic that retains its effectiveness when administered repeatedly over 24 h and does not inhibit epithelial healing, which may have application in management of pain after photorefractive keratectomy.
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The binding of saxitoxin to innervated and denervated rat diaphragm muscle, and to normal frog muscle, has been measured and it is suggested that the decrease in density per unit weight does not reflect any change in the density of sodium channels per unit area of membrane.
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The responses of cerebellar nuclear cells to extracellular stimulation in a slice preparation were studied and the ionic basis of their electroresponsiveness was investigated with blockers of…
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