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.

4 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. Before anyone else chimes in.. by Khyber · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's not the toxin itself, rather a component of the toxin that offers the pain relief. The /. editors must've edited that out, from my original entry.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  2. Different from ziconotide? by Wilson_6500 · · Score: 3, Informative

    There's already an anesthetic drug out there that's based off of a conotoxin. Ziconotide, from what I can tell, is a synthetic conotoxin substance based upon omega-conotoxin derived from the cone snail. Wikipedia has an entry on it, including that it's already in use as the drug "Prialt."

    I don't understand why nothing in the article even mentions this already-existing drug derived from (probably different) conotoxins.

  3. At least one conotoxin already commercialized. by Vellmont · · Score: 3, Informative
    A brief look at Wikipedia indicates there's already a commercially available drug derived from conotoxin that provides relief from pain:

    -conotoxin inhibits N-type voltage-dependent calcium channels. Because N-type voltage-dependent calcium channels are related to algesia (sensitivity to pain) in the nervous system, -conotoxin has an analgesic effect: the effect of -conotoxin M VII A is 100 to 1000 times that of morphine. Therefore -conotoxin M VII A is used as an analgesic drug named ziconotide; it is marketed under the brand name Prialt®.


    Presumably this is a different component of conotoxin.
    --
    AccountKiller
  4. Re:Toxin...Toxic? by torako · · Score: 3, Informative
    While your Bible citation applies too, most people would say that the Rod of Asclepius is a symbol of Greek mythology (probably older than your Bible text) Wikipedia text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_of_Asclepius The summary says:
    The Rod of Asclepius is an ancient Greek symbol associated with astrology and healing the sick with medicine. It consists of a serpent entwined around a staff. Asclepius, the son of Apollo, was practitioner of medicine in ancient Greek mythology. He was instructed in medicine by the centaur Chiron also connected to the constellation Ophiuchus.