Researchers from the University of Queensland, Australia have made a discovery that could put a whole new spin on the phrase ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’
The research team, which published its work in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may have found a lynchpin making one of the world’s deadliest spiders the key to the treatment of strokes.
According to the American Stroke Association, stroke kills approximately one person every four minutes. Stroke is also third highest mortality rate worldwide with an estimated 6 billion deaths recorded annually. Scientists are always looking for ways to combat the condition, but so far the only available treatment has been had only a sixty-five percent success rate, and only if treated a few hours within the occurrence of the stroke.
How was this discovery made?
Speaking to IFLScience, Professor Glenn King termed the discovery of this possible stroke detractor as an unexpected one. “One of my students, Sandy Pineda, was researching the Australian Funnel Island Web spider (Hadronyche infensa) when she noted a similarity between an ingredient in its venom and in that of the tarantula,” King stated. The venom of the tarantula is the source of the current treatment option for stroke. King remarked that finding the link between the two spiders was unusual because the species were not related.
King and his team gathered three spiders off the coast and ‘milked them exhaustively.’ Further studies on the venom of the funnel web spider revealed that the venom had a component, HI1A, made up of two PcTx1 particles connected by a bridge. The PcTx1 is the ingredient used in treating strokes.
How the HI1A works
Strokes are of two types; ischemic and hemorrhagic. The ischemic stroke is the more common of the two, and it occurs when blood vessels in the brain clog. Hemorrhagic stroke when blood vessels in the brain rupture. Both vessel rapture and blockage prevent oxygen from reaching the brain. Oxygen deprivation in the brain causes the occurrence of chemical reactions that result in the formation of the acid-sensing ion channel (ASICa). The ASICa stops brain cells from working thus effectively killing off the neutrons.
What the HI1A does is encompass the neutrons so that the acidic conditions within the brain do not kill them. King and his team conducted a trial on rats to find out the success rate of the HI1A. The researchers concluded that the brain damage in rats injected with the serum was reduced by eighty percent when treated immediately after the stroke occurred, and the venom reduced brain damage by sixty-five percent in rats injected with the venom eight hours after stroke occurrence.
Prospects for the Study
Though the research was conducted on rats, King hopes that more studies will be carried out so that human trials can begin soon. He added, “For now our study can only be used patients with ischemic stroke, but we hope that in future it can be applied to the treatment of hemorrhagic stroke.”
