neurotoxin [Neurosurgery Wiki]

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.

Neurotoxins are toxins that are poisonous or destructive to nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity).

Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insults that can adversely affect function in both developing and mature nervous tissue.

The term can also be used to classify endogenous compounds, which, when abnormally contact , can prove neurologically toxic.

Though neurotoxins are often neurologically destructive, their ability to specifically target neural components is important in the study of nervous systems.

Common examples of neurotoxins include lead, ethanol (drinking alcohol), manganese glutamate, nitric oxide (NO), botulinum toxin (e.g. Botox), tetanus toxin, and tetrodotoxin.

Some substances such as nitric oxide and glutamate are in fact essential for proper function of the body and only exert neurotoxic effects at excessive concentrations.