Word: toxin
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Guam, where ALS was once at least 50 times as common as in the continental U.S. Last year Peter Spencer, a neurotoxicologist at New York City's Albert Einstein College of Medicine, offered a solution to the mystery of the Guamanian cases when he traced them to a toxin found in cycad seeds, which the natives used to eat in times of famine. The toxin specifically affects nerve cells, says Spencer, and "exposure may occur decades before the actual onset of the disease...
...Americans have had their blepharospasm symptoms eased by an experimental drug called Oculinum. But now nationwide testing has been halted because the manufacturer says he is no longer able to find an insurance company that will sell him affordable liability coverage. Apparent reason: Oculinum is made from botulinus toxin, the deadly bacterial poison that causes botulism...
...drug, Oculinum, is made from botulinum A toxin, a deadly sub-stance that can poison food, a link that Scott said makes it even harder for him to find insurance...
...cause of the disorder is unclear, but the drug created from the highly potent botulism toxin is the only medication that can give relief to most of the estimated 50,000 patients afflicted in the U.S., Townsend said...
Though TSS is widely feared, relatively few people are vulnerable. Doctors estimate that by age 20, 95% of the U.S. population have been exposed to Staph. aureus toxin and have developed immunity. Of the remaining 5%, some may be genetically incapable of developing immunity. These women and men may actually suffer more than one bout of TSS, which can be treated with antibiotics...