Venom as a cure? Drugmakers see intriguing prospects in treating cancer, diabetes, pain.

LMTonline ^ | Saturday, May 9, 2020 | Erin Blakemore

[Viking2002]

Could snake or insect venom yield the next big treatment for diabetes or cancer?

Researchers think so - and they're spending lots of time with compounds found in the venom of animals such as scorpions, snakes and snails in the hopes they'll yield new drugs.

In a feature for the journal PNAS, Amy McDermott explores the trend, and its fascinating history.

[Viking2002]

This would be a great new tool for pain management in patients with debilitating diseases, and provide a better quality of life, IMO. I suffer from bad diabetic neuropathy and would welcome something stronger than Gabapentin to keep it from flaring up.

[Secret Agent Man]

Probably wouldnt have the side effects of gabapentin either.

[DesertRhino]

They say black mamba venom will end every problem you have.

[Viking2002]

I’m on 400 mg. x 4 a day. I know the side effects, but they’re relatively minor, and beat the devil out of not being on it.

[Viking2002]

Good one. You win a cookie.

[DesertRhino]

:)

[Safetgiver]

Lisinopril is made some type of Mamba venom and damned near made me commit suicide. My dumbass Dr. poo-pooed my concerns and I resorted to another DR. over the phone.

[sauropod]

You and me both. I’m beginning to think gabapentin isn’t strong enough.

[TribalPrincess2U]

Can’t believe they haven’t done this already!

[DesertRhino]

Lisinopril has a suicide ideation side effect?? Never heard THAT.

[Safetgiver]

You would if your BONES itched for two straight weeks and that SOB Dr. told you to take a shower.

[Viking2002]

I’ve heard somewhat conflicting info on Gabapentin, dosage-wise. I was told that after you cross the 1600 mg/daily threshold, it stops becoming effective after that. OTOH, I’ve heard some patients are on it at a 1800 mg/daily dosage, so I don’t know what to believe. I just stay with my doctor’s recommendation. (As an aside, I found out over Christmas that vets treat certain chronic conditions with it. My sister’s dog developed some sort of disorder and she gives her 100 mg nightly, before they go to bed.)

[lee martell]

Well, well well...This new kid in town, the one called
“Murder Hornet”, may end up being our new best friend, once the venom is analyzed.

[Viking2002]

If the concoction they brew from them is as intense as the venom itself, we'll all be as high as a kite. I, for one, would enjoy it. After I developed the neuropathy, I got staph inections in both lower legs, and it got into my nervous, muscular, vascular, and lymphatic systems below the knees. And it was open for business. I have to use a walking stick now (or as my doctor calls it, my 'pimp stick'), and when I get up in the morning or go full symptomatic, the pain is exquisite. Ever experience numbness and burning pain in the same areas at once? It's mind-boggling.

[null and void]

Byetta, used to treat diabetes, is derived from the venom in gila monster spit.

[Viking2002]

That’s a weird one. I’ve been on lisinopril for almost twenty years and never had the mildest of symptoms, But, not every med acts the same way in all people.

[null and void]

Yeah! What's up with that?

[Viking2002]

You got me. But there are a lot of things in nature that act as regulatory compounds in the human body, especially when synthesized into a variant and combined with other compounds. I'm sure my first wife could answer those questions accurately. She has her MBA and degrees in Pharmacology and Biology - she works in the pharmaceutical research and marketing business. But I'm not going to contact her in any way just to play the Shell Answer Man in this thread. *chuckle*

[null and void]

That’s OK, it was a rhetorical question from someone who lives it...

[Viking2002]

Damn it, man, I try to be serious for once and you gotta bait me! LOL