American scientists are closer than ever to create a single antidote for snakebite, are able to cope with poisons 28 different species of snakes: “one antidote to rule them all., he’s bigger than everybody”. The advantage of the developed method is not only its versatility, but the lack of special storage conditions.
If one is bitten by a poisonous snake, then, of course, there is the antidote, able to help you. But all the antidotes in the world are specific to each species of snakes, they also need to use necessarily be stored in the refrigerator, so as not to lose their properties. Thanks Matt Luino (Matt Lewin) and his colleagues from the California Academy of Sciences all this may soon change. Researchers announced they are one step away from creating a generic antidote that is able to deal with 28 the most common poisons, snakes and implemented without the help of a doctor.
One of the difficulties in developing a cure for snake bites is that the venom might prove themselves, getting in the human body to cause paralysis, tissue damage, blood clotting. To be effective, the antidote must affect all of these processes.
The team, led by Matt Luina, turned their attention to the enzyme sPLA2, which is included snake venom, and produced by the body during the inflammatory process. After the selection of chemical compounds that inhibit sPLA2, and clinical trials on rodents, scientists have identified that one of the stronger compounds all inhibited the action of the enzyme sPLA2: Varespladib (varespladib) – originally developed as an anti-inflammatory agent.
According to scientists, Varespladib showed its effectiveness against 28 various poisons, among which were the venom of the black Mamba, Russell’s Viper (chain Viper), Indian Cobra, Cape Cobra, the venom of the krait, the coastal Taipan., Eastern coral snake South American rattlesnake and relegable of flapjack. In each case, the new drug demonstrated the inactivation of sPLA2. Introduction Varespladib preventing the death of rodent poison.
Matt Lewin has applied for a patent describing a new way to use Varespladib. American scientists said that in the near future they will receive permission to conduct the first tests of a new antidote on humans. They hope that Varespladib can prevent hundreds and thousands of deaths occur each year due to snake bite.