This led to a very interesting herp article I found in the online Boomer Health and Lifestyle Magazine titled 'Can Snake Venom Help Heart Attack Victims?'. The complex relationship between man and nature has always interested me and this article highlights this relationship by discussing how snake venom could be of use within the medical field. Using a grant from the NIH, the Mayo Clinic will begin research to study the chemical compound called cenderitide and its ability to prevent heart cell death. This compound is a peptide and when introduced into the bloodstream of the human body could aide in decreasing kidney and cardiac tissue damage after a myocardial infarction. The natural form of this peptide can be found in the venom of the Green Mamba snake, among other snakes.
The Green Mamba actually consist of two species: the Eastern Green Mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps) and the Western Green Mamba (Dendroaspis viridis). Both are species of the Elapidae family and tend to be mostly arboreal, fairly non-aggressive, and shy. Although they avoid confrontation with humans, they are very venomous and will strike in fast, continuous manner if provoked. The main difference between these species is distribution- D. angusticeps occurs on the eastern coast of Africa while D. viridis occurs on the western coast.
Distribution of D. angusticeps (black)
Distribution of D. Viridis (orange)
Once the venom of the Green Mamba snake is injected into its victim it causes dilation of the blood vessels and is spread quickly throughout the body to affect many systems. This venom consists of different types of neurotoxins, enzymes, and cardiotoxins. Which if bitten causes immediate burning and swelling around the bite site occur. Shortly after other body systems began to deteriorate as the venom causes a large drop in blood pressure and sometimes paralysis. The snake venom has enzymes that prevent clotting, cleave muscle fibers, and even prevent neurons from responding to acetylcholine (causing paralysis). You may be asking yourself how something so deadly can be produced to help patients in the hospital?
The Mayo Clinic hopes to use a chemically engineered form of this Green Mamba venom in 6o Cardiology patients at the Mayo Clinic Centers of Rochester and Jacksonville. In small doses, snake venom proves to be a powerful treatment that works to oppose the effects of many diseases. For example, heart attacks and strokes are typically caused by a blood clot, yet snake venom contains enzymes that prevent this clotting and also help to keep cardiac tissue alive. This chemical compound (Centeritide) would also help the body excrete salt and water so that the kidneys don't get olverloaded. The chemical version of the venom is being developed by Nile Therapeutics to be used as an out-patient treatment option. If the drug gets approved for public use, a decrease in hospital readmission rates among heart attack patients would be seen.
Currently, snake venom research is being done in many different areas of medicine including treatment for Alzheimers, hyptertension, cancer, asthma, and Parkinson's disease. This research reveals the value that snakes have in nature and to humans, which creates a positive reputation in the public eye that snakes rightly deserve. The value of snake venom for the medical field cannot go unnoticed due to the wide array of diseases that are inhibited through this type of treatment. If snake venom is used properly and not in a way that damages snake populations or abuses these beautiful creatures, millions of lives can be saved through this treatment.
Article posted on March 6th, 2012 by ThirdAge Staff (http://www.thirdage.com/authors)
http://www.thirdage.com/news/can-snake-venom-help-heart-attack-victims_03-06-2012?page=1
Additional Information drawn from the NIH Office of Science Education here:
http://science.education.nih.gov/animalresearch.nsf/Story1/Making+Medicines+from+Poisonous+Snakes
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