Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Sea Snail Toxin Offers Promise For Pain

Posted by kdawson on from the take-two-drops-and-call-me-in-the-morning dept.

Khyber writes to tell us about research out of Australia that holds out hope for chronic pain sufferers. The toxin of a sea snail, called conotoxin, has a component that has been shown to directly target pain receptors in experimental animals. Unlike essentially all existing pain relievers, conotoxin seems to suppress pain without side effects. Human trials are a year away.

3 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. Ouch. by Das+Auge · · Score: 5, Funny

    Death, the ultimate pain release...and it's good for weight loss, too.

  2. Experimental animals? by jonnythan · · Score: 4, Funny

    "The toxin of a sea snail, called conotoxin, has a component that has been shown to directly target pain receptors in experimental animals." ..... What about regular animals?

    Is that the next step?

    Experimental animals -> regular animals -> experimental humans -> regular humans??

  3. Re:Misleading title by pilgrim23 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Human trials are still a year away? I see the research is progressing at a snail's pace...

    --
    - Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum.