World’s most poisonous spider a healer
Print Edition
A protein in the venom of deadly funnel web spiders could minimize the effects of brain damage after a stroke, researchers in Australia said yesterday.
Strokes kill 6 million people worldwide each year, and 5 million survivors are permanent disabled.
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 said 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.
“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 minimize the effects of brain damage after a stroke.”
The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. King said the small protein showed great promise.
“One of the most exciting things about Hi1a is that it provides exceptional levels of protection for eight hours after stroke onset, which is a remarkably long window of opportunity for treatment,” he said.
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