Animal Venoms in Medicine

Venoms are an evolutionary marvel of chemicals, used primarily by the animals that possess them for hunting and self-defense. As humans, animal venoms tend to make us cringe, run from bees, and fear snakes. However, this chemical hodgepodge contains natural cures to some of our most stubborn diseases. In fact, that giant scary scorpion can cure brain cancer with a single ingredient of its venom, chlorotoxin. Combined with what we already have at our disposal, chlorotoxin from the Deathstalker scorpion is making brain cancer treatments involving therapeutic DNA sequences significantly more effective. Not satisfied with your stinger-bearing creature antidotes? Bee venom can be used similarly to chlorotoxin, but the ingredient from bees is called melittin. Both of these compounds are attached to nanoparticle membranes, enabling the drug to more accurately reach a target area without disrupting the functionality.

Moving away from cancer but sticking with bugs, a specific peptide in rose tarantula venom can help aid patients with muscular dystrophy. The peptide, when isolated, can effectively reduce the stress on muscles by shutting off the ion channels.

The Brazilian yellow scorpion has a compound similar to this peptide, called antarease. While researchers have not yet found a cure using antarease, they have conclusively proved that it causes pancreatitis. The suffix itis simply means swelling, and this can have varying degrees of seriousness when talking about organs. For example, laryngitis is a swelling of the voice box, which is uncomfortable but not fatal. Applied to the pancreas, however, swelling can disrupt the production of important enzymes.

None of the above creatures can kill you, but the Indian cobra is responsible for a good chunk of the 10,000 deadly snakebites each year. This deadly venom contains both a post-synaptic neurotoxin and a cardiotoxin. In layman’s terms, this means that the snake venom disrupts the chemicals in your brain, causing paralysis. The cardiotoxin causes electrophysiology dysfunction in your heart. Both can lead to the deadly respiratory and cardiac arrests that are the common cause of death in victims.

As mentioned, venoms are extremely complex, and cobra venom contains enzymes, such as hyaluronidase, that make the toxins travel efficiently. This is mostly for the purpose of stopping quick rodents that are a main food source for snakes. The cobra’s venom has evolved into a complex and highly efficient tool, one that scientists are now harnessing, in its entirety, to help treat arthritis. Injected in non-lethal (extremely tiny) amounts, the venom has been proven to cause vast improvement to arthritis symptoms.

Natural chemistry has been saving human lives since the beginning, but now that you know all about creepy crawly saviors, you might consider letting a bee go on its merry way, carrying its own cure to cancer just has it has for millions of years.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/breakthroughs/the-positive-power-in-deadly-poison#slide-1

 Submitted by: Jaime Kass