Could venom from one of the world’s most poisonous spiders be used for erectile dysfunction? Here’s how scientists use deadly venom to treat common health problems

Venom from spiders, snakes and scorpions can cause excruciating pain, infections and death, but scientists have developed ways to turn this deadly substance into treatments for problems ranging from erectile dysfunction, heart attacks and even cancer.

For 30 years, researchers in Brazil have been studying human bites from the banana spider, one of the most venomous spiders in the world, and found that men who were bitten experienced an unusual side effect: persistent erections that lasted for several hours.

Now these researchers are studying how the banana spider’s venom could be used in a lotion to help men with erectile dysfunction.

Protein found in snake venom is used in some medications for high blood pressure, heart failure and heart attack because of its ability to stop blood clots.

And scorpion venom can help kill certain types of cancer cells.

Here, DailyMail.com highlights the toxic poison that scientists think could be medical game changers.

Spinning bananas

For thirty years, researchers have been baffled by a side effect of the venom of the Brazilian banana spider, also known as the ‘armed spider’. Men who were bitten had prolonged and unwanted erections, some lasting up to four hours.

Now scientists are working to harness that effect in a treatment for erectile dysfunction, which affects about 30 million American men, twice as many as in the early 2000s.

Researchers at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil are testing a component of the spider venom, BZ371A, which they believe stimulates blood flow through the body.

The team has completed a phase one safety trial in both men and women and is preparing for additional trials.

A separate pilot test conducted in men and women showed that topical application of BZ371A (applying the drug directly to the skin) resulted in an increase in blood flow to the applied area, and in men it facilitated an erection.

This development could help millions of men who can’t take traditional erection health medications in pill form, such as Viagra and Cialis.

It is estimated that approximately one in three men cannot take currently approved medications due to health problems that would make their use dangerous.

Snakes

Many snakes are so venomous that a single bite can kill within seconds. However, research shows that in some cases the poison can be used to treat various heart problems.

Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1981, captopril is one of the most commonly prescribed high blood pressure medications in the US. And one of the key ingredients is the venom of the Brazilian pit viper, one of the deadliest snakes in the world.

By the 1990s, two more drugs came onto the market – eptifibatide and tirofiban – that were based on the venom of the dusky pygmy rattlesnake and the saw-scaled viper. These medications are used to treat angina, a type of chest pain.

Researchers believe the poison helps prevent blood clots, which could reduce the risk of heart attacks in the long term.

A 2017 study in the journal Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis and vascular biology found that snake venom eased blood clots without the risk of additional bleeding, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Komodo dragons

The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard on Earth, weighing a whopping 200 pounds and traveling as fast as 12 miles per hour. Although the venom from this lizard’s bite can be fatal to humans, it can also help prevent strokes, heart attacks and pulmonary embolism.

Similar to snake venom and captopril, according to a 2017 study by the University of Queensland in Australia discovered that Komodo dragon venom could cut a combination of three different chains of the protein fibrinogen, causing blood clots.

As many as 100,000 Americans die from blood clots every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates.

The endangered lizard also has the GLP-1 agonist exenatide, which works similarly to Ozempic’s active ingredient semaglutide to treat diabetes and aid in weight loss.

Scorpios

Scorpions use the toxins in their venom to instantly target and kill prey, but researchers think the venom could also be deadly to cancer cells.

Researchers at the City of Hope Medical Center in California tested the effects of scorpion venom on glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a form of brain cancer with a survival rate of less than 10 percent.

The team implemented the venom into chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T), a form of immunotherapy that harnesses the power of a patient’s immune system to fight a disease.

The scorpion’s venom contains chlorotoxin (CLTX), which researchers found could target cancer cells without affecting healthy cells in the brain or other organs. The treatment is currently in clinical trials.

Approximately 14,500 Americans are diagnosed with GBM, and only 6.9 percent are expected to live longer than five years. According to the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS), the survival rate has been virtually unchanged for decades.

The cancer has claimed the lives of Arizona Sen. John McCain and President Joe Biden’s son, Beau Biden.

Northern short-tailed shrew

The northern short-tailed shrew, native to northeastern North America, is one of only four orders of mammals that produce venom. Unlike many other venomous species, it does not produce enough venom to kill a human. Instead, the substance causes pain and swelling.

And now the shrew’s venom, produced in the animal’s saliva, is being used in clinical trials to treat certain types of cancer.

The Canadian pharmaceutical company Soricimed Biopharma Inc. is currently in phase 2 clinical trials of a cancer drug containing venom from the northern short-tailed shrew to test whether it can treat solid tumor cancers such as breast, colon, bladder, prostate and prostate cancer. lung cancer.

However, additional research is limited.