Spider venom gives hope to stroke victims
WONDER PROTEIN: HELPS PREVENT BRAIN DAMAGE
Australian scientists make breakthrough studying deadly arachnids.
Sydney
Aprotein in the venom of potentially deadly funnel web spiders could minimise the effects of brain damage after a stroke, researchers in Australia said yesterday.
Strokes claim 6 million lives worldwide each year and 5 million survivors are left with a permanent disability.
Scientists from the University of Queensland and Monash University said spider venom was always a good place to look for proteins to help in medical treatments as they have evolved to target the nervous systems of insects.
Lead researcher Glenn King told AFP this led them to see what they could find in funnel webs, which carry one of the world’s most dangerous toxins.
Three were caught on Fraser Island on the Queensland coast and taken back to the lab to be milked.
This involved administering an electric charge to their fangs, causing the muscles to contract and the venom to be squeezed out.
“The small protein we discovered, Hi1a, blocks acid-sensing ion channels in the brain, which are key drivers of brain damage after stroke,” he said after injecting a synthetic version into rats.
“We believe that we have, for the first time, found a way to minimise the effects of brain damage after a stroke.”
The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, with King saying the small protein showed great promise as a future treatment.
“One of the most exciting things about Hi1a is that it provides exceptional levels of protection for eight hours after stroke onset.” –