A master's thesis at the College of Medicine, University of Basrah, discussed the effect of pyridostigmine as an antidote to botulinum type A: an experimental study on rabbits.
The research presented by the student Hoda Salem Qasim aims to evaluate the toxic effect of botulinum toxin on skeletal muscles and to prove the effectiveness of the anticholinesterase enzyme pyridostigmine in accelerating spontaneous recovery after injection of botulinum toxin in a rabbit model.
The research concluded that Botox injections lead to a significant change in the weight of rabbits. Pyridostigmine causes muscle weight gain in rabbits while Botox injection leads to decreased muscle mass. Kidney function tests are also significantly decreased by elevated Pyridostigmine and BOTOX. Liver function tests are significantly elevated by Pyridostigmine and brought down by BOTOX. Botox injections cause an upregulation of AChRs. Pyridostigmine caused downregulation of AChRs. Pyridostigmine can act as the most powerful antitoxin against botox toxicity. It is worth mentioning that this is the first time in which this work is discussed.
