Researchers from Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the UK have found a solution to the deadly cobra venom that kills 1.38 billion people every year — a solution that could also help the more than 5 million people bitten by cobras every year.
Australian researchers have found that the common blood-thinning drug heparin “may significantly reduce the devastating necrotic damage caused by cobra bites and potentially improve survival by slowing the progression of envenomation.”
The anticoagulants act as “decoy” antidotes that flood the bite site with “decoy” heparin-like molecules that can counteract toxins in the venom that damage tissue and cause necrosis, explained corresponding author Greg Neely of the University of Sydney in Australia.
Heparin is also produced by many animal and human cells in response to blood clotting. Heparin is a natural anticoagulant produced by the body and is sometimes synthesized for medical use. Heparin works by increasing the activity of antithrombin III, a natural protein that inhibits blood clot formation. Heparin is commonly given by injection to prevent and treat blood clots in conditions such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. It is also used during surgery to prevent blood clots. Heparin is effective but must be closely monitored due to possible side effects, including bleeding. Heparin is available in many forms, each tailored to specific medical conditions and patient needs.
“Heparin is cheap, it’s ubiquitous and it’s listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organisation,” lead author and PhD student Tian Du told the BBC. “If the human trials are successful, it could become widely available relatively quickly as a cheap, safe and effective drug for treating cobra bites,” she added.
Current antivenom treatments do not effectively combat necrosis, or the death of tissue and cells at the site of a snake bite, which can result in amputation, the researchers said.
“Snakebite is one of the most deadly neglected tropical diseases, with its burden falling overwhelmingly on rural areas of low- and middle-income countries. Our findings are provocative as current antivenoms are largely ineffective at treating severe localised envenoming, which is characterised by painful progressive swelling, blistering and/or tissue necrosis around the bite site. This can lead to loss of limb function, amputations and lifelong disability,” Professor Nicholas Casewell, director of the Centre for Snakebite Research and Intervention at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, told the BBC.
Australian researchers have found that the common blood-thinning drug heparin “may significantly reduce the devastating necrotic damage caused by cobra bites and potentially improve survival by slowing the progression of envenomation.”
The anticoagulants act as “decoy” antidotes that flood the bite site with “decoy” heparin-like molecules that can counteract toxins in the venom that damage tissue and cause necrosis, explained corresponding author Greg Neely of the University of Sydney in Australia.
Heparin is also produced by many animal and human cells in response to blood clotting. Heparin is a natural anticoagulant produced by the body and is sometimes synthesized for medical use. Heparin works by increasing the activity of antithrombin III, a natural protein that inhibits blood clot formation. Heparin is commonly given by injection to prevent and treat blood clots in conditions such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. It is also used during surgery to prevent blood clots. Heparin is effective but must be closely monitored due to possible side effects, including bleeding. Heparin is available in many forms, each tailored to specific medical conditions and patient needs.
“Heparin is cheap, it’s ubiquitous and it’s listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organisation,” lead author and PhD student Tian Du told the BBC. “If the human trials are successful, it could become widely available relatively quickly as a cheap, safe and effective drug for treating cobra bites,” she added.
Current antivenom treatments do not effectively combat necrosis, or the death of tissue and cells at the site of a snake bite, which can result in amputation, the researchers said.
“Snakebite is one of the most deadly neglected tropical diseases, with its burden falling overwhelmingly on rural areas of low- and middle-income countries. Our findings are provocative as current antivenoms are largely ineffective at treating severe localised envenoming, which is characterised by painful progressive swelling, blistering and/or tissue necrosis around the bite site. This can lead to loss of limb function, amputations and lifelong disability,” Professor Nicholas Casewell, director of the Centre for Snakebite Research and Intervention at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, told the BBC.
