Spider venom to treat cardiac arrest

Warrigal

Warrigal

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Sydney, Australia
Everything in nature has a purpose in the web of life. Some of these purposes are yet to be discovered.
Funnel web spiders are deadly to humans and rodents but scientists are discovering that one component of the venom could save human lives.

This link has photos of a fairly horrendous spider so arachnophobes should proceed with caution.

The deadly spider venom that can repair hearts after cardiac arrest (msn.com)
 

Warrigal said:
Everything in nature has a purpose in the web of life. Some of these purposes are yet to be discovered.
Funnel web spiders are deadly to humans and rodents but scientists are discovering that one component of the venom could save human lives.

This link has photos of a fairly horrendous spider so arachnophobes should proceed with caution.

The deadly spider venom that can repair hearts after cardiac arrest (msn.com)
Click to expand...

Interesting article, but so damn many pop-ups , it's next to impossible to read.........But ! Thanks to you for posting it.

I wonder how the spider kills ? Is the venom @ full strength stopping the heart ? But at a reduced amount acting differently ?

There are all sorts of things out there we know nothing about.
 
Funnel web venom is very complex which is why it took so long for them to produce an anti toxin.
If I remember correctly it paralyses the muscles.

They have identified one compound in the venom that is promising for people with heart attacks and strokes.
 

I had no pop-ups at all..

Snippet from the article...
Dr Palpant said the drug candidate, a protein called Hi1a, worked by stopping a 'death signal' sent from the heart after an attack when blood flow to the organ is reduced.

'The lack of oxygen causes the cell environment to become acidic, which combine to send a message for heart cells to die,' he said.

One of the reasons why heart disease continues to be a leading cause of death globally is because no one has been able to develop a drug that stops this death signal.

'The Hi1a protein from spider venom blocks acid-sensing ion channels in the heart, so the death message is blocked, cell death is reduced, and we see improved heart cell survival,' he said.
 
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