Awesome

= __Control Freak Corporations __ = //~Always Chasing the Cure~ // The Problem?
 * Tetrodotoxin! - A poison that prevent neurons from creating action potentials, blocking neuron communication with other neurons and muscles.



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 * //Primary exposure//: eating pufferfish (fugu)

The Symptoms : Tetrodotoxin causes __paralysis__ - loss of muscle function.
 * numbness in the face/tongue/extremities, then...
 * motor dysfunction, weakness, nausea/vomiting/abdominal pain, speech difficulty
 * further paralysis, deep coma in severe cases, with seizures, hypotension, cardiac dysfunction
 * ultimately, death occurs from paralysis of breathing muscles: respiratory failure

Why? Tetrodotoxin blocks the voltage gated sodium channels. Specifically, the toxin binds to site 1 of the fast voltage gated sodium channel, which is the pore in the protein through which the ion diffuses into the cell.


 * sodium ions (Na+) can't diffuse into the cell
 * cells cannot depolarize, and consequently cannot generate an action potential
 * since the cells cannot generate action potentials, neurons can't fire signals or communicate with muscles, resulting in the paralysis described above.

The Fix! Drug: ArrowImmune (my apologies for the obnoxious white space at the bottom and the fuzzy words)

ANYWAY...As shown in the above diagram, tetrodotoxin blocks the sodium channels, preventing the cell from depolarizing. However, ArrowImmune binds to the toxin, blocking it from binding to the channels. This allows sodium to diffuse into the cell. The clumps of ArrowImmune can then be cleared by the body's own immune system.

ArrowImmune also contains very minimal amounts of the toxin batrachotoxin found in the pitohui bird and poison arrow frogs (where the drug gets its name). This helps reverse the effects of the tetrodotoxin (TTX) already bound to sodium channels.



Batrachotoxin is similar to TTX, but not quite.
 * Batrachotoxin causes an increased membrane permeability to Na+ ions, even at the resting potential.
 * This causes an influx of Na+ into the cell - making depolarization much easier.

This counters the sodium blockage caused by the TTX!

Some Other Information: ~ArrowImmune should be given with __**anti-inflammatory treatment**__, as an immune response in the nervous system may cause inflammation in the surrounding tissue (meningitis).

~Even with ArrowImmune, the stomach should be emptied (unless the patient has already experienced vomiting) to prevent any more TTX toxin from being absorbed. This can also be accomplished with charcoal.

~The patient should recieve aggressive airway protection - breathing tubes, etc, and cardiac monitoring to prevent muscle failure in these vital areas from any toxin already absorbed before ArrowImmune acts.

~Once the drug is administered, the patient still needs to be monitored extensively (especially for symptoms of cardiac or respiratory failure) until it is clear the body has cleared itself of the toxin. = =