the applicants arrived at the results of the present invention in the course of their studies on the mechanism of action of snake presynaptic pla2 neurotoxins . these presynaptic neurotoxins are major components of the venom of many poisonous snakes . starting from : a ) the established fact that these neurotoxins are endowed with a phospholipase a2 ( pla2 ) activity and that such activity leads to the production of lysopls and fas following the hydrolysis of the fatty acid ester bond in position 2 of phospholipids ( 4 ); b ) the fact that lysophospholipids and fatty acids in the appropriate membrane localization favor membrane fusion and inhibit membrane fission ( 5 ), and that c ) such biological activities would lead to the depletion of synaptic vesicles from nerve terminals , as the one observed by electron microscopy upon exposure to the snake presynaptic pla2 neurotoxins ( 6 , 7 ), the applicants decided to test the effect of a mixture of lysophospholipids and fatty acids on the neuromuscular junction both in an ex - vivo preparation and in an in - vivo system . the results obtained are briefly described here below . fig1 shows the progressive and rapid inhibition caused by a 150 micromolar and equimolar mixture of oleic acid ( oa ) and 1 - myristoyl - lysopc ( lysopc ). similar data were obtained with other lysopls varying with respect to r and / or with respect to r ′. at the same time , the figure illustrates the very important point that a lysopc alone or oa molecule alone is unable to elicit a substantial inhibition . in other words , the two molecules act in a synergistic mode and this is at the very basis of the present patent . the right panel of fig2 shows an electron micrograph of a mouse phrenic nerve - hemidiaphragm neuromuscular junction paralysed by the addition of an equimolar mixture of oleic acid and 1 - myristoyl - lysophosphatidylcholine , whilst the left panel of fig2 reports the contralateral , untreated nmj . this figure shows that the lipid mixture inhibits the nerve terminal by inducing depletion of the synaptic vesicles containing the neurotransmitter , while leaving the muscle unaffected . the nerve ending inhibiting activity of a mixture of a lysopl and of fa can be explained on the basis of the biophysical theory of hemifusion intermediate in membrane fusion and fission ( 5 ). lysopls and fas partition effectively into the presynaptic cell membrane and generate a membrane configuration which promotes synaptic vesicle exocytosis and inhibits their recycling . this leads to a swelling of the nerve terminal with depletion of the synaptic vesicles , as the one shown in the right panel of fig2 , with inhibition of the nerve terminal activity . this inhibition is reversible upon removal of the lipid mixture by washings with a albumin in vitro , as it is shown in fig1 by the upward deflection at time 160 minutes , which follows the addition of albumin to the bath . in vivo , the removal of the lysopls and fas is expected to be carried out by lipid metabolism and by the washing effect carried out by the tissue circulating fluids , leading to the reversal of the inhibitory effect seen on the human edb muscles of volunteers , described here after . the effect of an equimolar mixture of lysopc and fa was also tested on human volunteers to assay the possibility that it elicits muscle relaxation . the lipid mixture was tested on the foot extensor digitorum brevis ( edb ) muscle , which has been validated for the assay of the nmj paralyzing activity of botulinum toxin ( 8 ). a cream composed of 1 - myristoylphosphatidylcholine ( 7 . 7 %) and oleic acid ( 5 %) in a standard eudermic emulsion for galenic preparations was prepared following a standard protocol ( 3 ) and applied three times a day with gentle movements to the skin area overlaying the edb of one foot , while the other foot was treated in the same way with the standard eudermic emulsion alone . a reduction ranging between 30 and 40 % in the compound muscular action potential amplitude was found after three days in a group of human volunteers and a similar decrease was found after seven days of treatment . after suspension from the treatment , the inhibited edb muscle rapidly regained its entire contractile activity showing the complete reversibility of the induced effect . no side effects were noticed . although preliminary , this result provides a clear proof of principle that the product according to the invention is capable of inhibiting the human neuromuscular junction in vivo , in all likelihood by inhibiting the release of acetylcholine from the motoneuron as it has been described above in fig1 for the ex - vivo neuromuscular junction preparation . the product according to the invention is typically in the form of a composition for topical application , including a lysopl or a mixture of lysopls , a fa or a mixture of fas , and a pharmaceutically or cosmetically acceptable vehicle . it is however also envisaged that the product according to the invention includes two separate formulations for topical use that can be applied the one immediately after the other or with a time interval between the two applications . in such a case , one of the two formulations will include at least one lysopl and a pharmaceutically or cosmetically acceptable vehicle and the other one will include at least one fas and a pharmaceutically or cosmetically acceptable vehicle . suitable vehicles for all of the above - mentioned compositions include all those excipients , solvents , diluents that are conventionally used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields ( 3 ). both components of the product according to the invention , i . e . lysopls and fas , are amphiphilic , and thus they can be easily incorporated into hydrophobic vehicles to yield ointments and pastes , as well as into hydrophilic vehicles , thus providing for creams and emulsions ( both w / o and o / w ), with the optional addition of emulsifying agents . some examples of formulations according to the present invention are given here below . this ointment is prepared by heating the components together until they melt and agitating until cooling has occurred . the cream is prepared by melting the solid components in the vaseline and adding freshly boiled water at the same temperature , agitating slowly until cooling has occurred and reintegrating any evaporated water . the gel is prepared by dispersing the 1 - myristoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphocholine , the oleic acid and the vaseline in a preformed mixture of cyclomethicone and dimethiconol . 1 . gurr m . i ., frayn k . n . & amp ; harwood , j . l . ( 2001 ) lipid biochemistry fifth edition , blackwell publishing ltd . 2 . berg , j . m ., j . l . tymoczko , and l . stryer , biochemistry . 5th ed . 2002 , new york : w . h . freeman . 3 . european pharmacopoeia 5 . 0 ( 2005 ) semi - solid preparations for cutaneous application . section 01 / 2005 - 0132 . 4 . kini , r . m . editor ( 1997 ). venom phospholipase a2 enzymes : structure , function and mechanism . chichester , uk : wiley . 5 . chernomordik , l . v . and kozlov , m . m . ( 2003 ). protein - lipid interplay in fusion and fission of biological membranes . annu . rev . biochem . 72 , 175 - 207 6 . cull - candy , s . g ., fohlman , j ., gustavsson , d ., lullmann - rauch , r ., & amp ; thesleff , s . ( 1976 ). the effects of taipoxin and notexin on the function and fine structure of the murine neuromuscular junction . neuroscience 1 , 175 - 180 . 7 . montecucco , c ., and rossetto , o . ( 2000 ). how do presynaptic pla2 neurotoxins block nerve terminals ? trends biochem sci . 25 , 266 - 270 8 . sloop r . r ., escutin r . o ., matus j . a ., cole b . a . & amp ; peterson g . w . ( 1996 ). dose - response curve of human extensor digitorum brevis muscle function to i . m . injected botulinum toxin type a . neurology 46 , 1382 - 1386 .
described is a product containing at least one lysophospholipid and at least one fatty acid , as a combined preparation for simultaneous , separate or sequential use , to be topically applied , in order to temporarily and reversibly inhibit a neuromuscular junction or the release of acetylcholine from autonomic nerve endings ; this product can be used for treating hyperhidrosis conditions and for the cosmetic treatment of facial and other body wrinkles and , in general , human syndromes caused by the hyperactivity of peripheral nerve terminals .