The sea snail and the story take poison poison

While studying the lethal poison of a sea snail species, scientists have discovered it has analgesic effects. Many other toxins of sea snail have also been used to treat dangerous diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's disease.

Cone snail

People with chronic pain such as patients with cancer, amputated limbs . taking common painkillers are not effective, only those with morphine - an opiate product. Morphine is a long-term addiction, every dose has to be increased and at some point, people have to transmit slowly to continuous morphine in the blood. Currently, in the United States, nearly 50,000 people have to transmit such drugs. But of these, many people still suffer. There has been Prialt 50 times stronger than morphine, used as a infusion pump. Prialt is a synthetic drug, similar to the cone snail toxin. From the sea snail to Prialt is a pretty interesting story.

The story begins twenty years ago. A young Filipino graduate student named Olivera needs to do a research project, which requires little money to hope to accomplish. When he was a kid, he liked to go to the atoll for some pyramidal snails, because this shell is famous for being beautiful and precious. Olivera knows these snails are capable of injecting venom into humans and other marine animals for self-defense. People who suffer from snail numbness all over their bodies can be dangerous to their lives. In 1980, Olivera identified the toxin of the sea snail, initiating the research process that led to Prialt preparations. Currently, Olivera is a professor of biology at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

While studying the effects of conotoxiuatin marine snail on the central nervous system, people accidentally discovered the pain relief of conotoxin. When the neurotransmitter signals along the spinal cord are taken up to the brain, there is a need to transport calcium ions across the cell membrane. The reciprocal line of calcium ions is named ' calcium channel '. Marine snail toxins prevent calcium from crossing the cell membrane, so it is 'calcium channel blocker' (calcium channel blocker). This ability to block is very accurate, making painful signals not reach the brain. The nervous system is still working normally so there are no side effects of morphine analgesics.

Currently, people are trying another toxin of the sea snail, which has neural protection properties, hoping to be used in patients with epilepsy. In addition, a number of toxins of various types of sea snails are also being studied to treat heart disease, blood vessels, Parkinson's disease .

Ocean, vast source of pharmaceuticals

In 1928, Fleming (British) happened to discover the ability of a fungus to kill bacteria, Penicillium notatum, to be made into the first antibiotic. After that, people massively dig everywhere, from riverside mud to jungle to find new drugs! In addition to antibiotics, up to half of the current drugs are taken from natural environmental sources. However, as we say ' mouth eruption eruption ', digging up must also run out.

And people began to 'stare' to the sea. The sea is vast, accounting for three-quarters of the earth's area. Millions of millions of years have small animals still exist in the environment " strong and weak, big fish eat small fish ". Many creatures have the ability to secrete substances to defend themselves, dealing with enemies, though secretions have been greatly diluted in seawater. In addition, plants in the ocean like seaweed also have medicinal substances. There are many projects that try out drugs derived from marine life, which are hopefully used to treat cancer, infections, asthma, skin diseases .

There is a micro-animal that attaches to each piece to the rock or the bottom of the boat, collectively called bryozoa. Each animal such as a soft corn grain has both sexual organs to create sperm and eggs, but also matures by sprouting like plants. In the abdomen these bryozoa contain a bacterium. From those bacteria, people make bryostatin. This substance is used in combination with anticancer drugs like cisplatin, Taxol, the results are much better. Bryostatin has also been used to treat leukemia. However, to produce Bryostatin, there must be a huge source of bryozoa. It is calculated that every 14 tons of bryozoa can produce 18 grams of bryostatin! Pharmacists are approaching this compound.

Another example is from a sponge, people make pharmaceuticals to treat asthma, which is as effective as strong drugs like steroids without side effects. Or the anti-inflammatory pseudopterosin made from a plant clinging to Caribbean sea corals has been used by cosmetics companies like Estee Lauder for decades to put on sunscreen.

The study of marine pharmaceuticals, called Marine Pharmacology, is growing in stature. Several decades ago, it was just a pure study of silently scientists in the laboratory. Now big manufacturers like Aventis, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis are active in this area. Substances capable of being used as pharmaceuticals are summarized annually in all types from the sea. For example, in 1999, according to Midwestern University statistics, the works found substances from the sea including:

- 21 substances that are resistant to helminths, bacteria, fungi, malaria parasites, platelets (like aspirin-used anticoagulants), tuberculosis and viruses.

- 23 substances that affect the heart, nervous system, inflammation and immunity.

- 22 substances have other effects.