Chronic Pain to be Cured With Toxin
Spider toxin is specialised to kill prey, but the fatal cocktail can also be used to ease the pain of thousands of patients.
Spider toxin is a complex "soup" made up of many substances. Some affect motor nerves to paralyse the prey, whereas others break down muscle tissue, making it liquid, so the spider can consume the prey.
The many effects of spider toxin have attracted the attention of drug researchers. Studies of the Chilean rose tarantula have shown that its toxin includes a substance which can block a specific type of pores in the cell membranes of muscle cells. The pores are always open in people suffering from muscular atrophy, and that is the reason why their muscles are broken down. The toxin of other spiders contains substances that block nerve paths, which transmit pain, promising well for thousands of patients suffering chronic pain.