title: Botulism type B presenting as pure autonomic dysfunction.
abstract: Botulism nowadays is a rare mostly food-borne disease caused by the toxin of Clostridium botulinum. On the other hand, botulinum toxin blocking cholinergic transmission has become a most powerful treatment option for many focal movement disorders and is increasingly used to treat autonomic disorders [2, 7, 8]. Although muscle weakness is the hallmark of botulism, autonomic dysfunction may be the leading clinical symptom in rare cases and should be included in the differential diagnosis of pure dysautonomia. Here, we describe a patient with autonomic dysfunction as the leading symptom of botulism type B.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Neurology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Merz
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bigalke
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stoll
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naumann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001342:Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001906:Botulism / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000635:transmission; D002799:Cholinergic Fibers; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male