Spider Venom Can be a Pain Killer Sans the Side Effects

Spider venoms may soon be used as a variety of safe pain killers or therapy, scientists say.

Chinese bird spider venom as an alternative to opioids sans the side effects.

Researchers from the University of Queensland developed a novel tarantula venom mini-protein that can relieve severe pain without causing addiction that is normally associated with prolonged opioid use. 

According to Dr. Christina Schroeder from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience, the current opioid crisis desperately needs urgent alternatives to morphine and morphine-like drugs such as fentanyl and oxycodone. An opioid is effective in providing relief from pain but it comes with unwanted side effects such as nausea, constipation and the risk of addiction, 

Dr. Schroeder further explained that their study revealed that a mini-protein from the Chinese bird spider, known as Huwentoxin-IV, attaches to the body's pain receptors. 

The study team designed the drug using a three-pronged approach that incorporates the mini-protein, its receptor and surrounding membrane from the spider venom to alter the mini-protein, resulting in greater potency and specificity for specific pain receptors. The said approach also ensures that the right amount of the mini-protein attaches itself to the receptor and the cell membrane surrounding the pain receptors. 

The mini-protein has been tested in mice and has revealed that it has worked effectively. 

This study could provide leads to an alternative method of pain treatment without the side effect and reduce reliance on an opioid for pain management, Shroeder said. 

Opioid Complications and Side Effect

Opioids are increasingly being prescribed to treat chronic pain conditions.

In a paper in PubMed.gov in 2008, researchers emphasized the abuse and diversion of these medications when used. The extent of efficacy in pain treatment, when used for prolonged periods, has not been proven. The study noted the common side effects of opioid administration:  sedation, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, physical dependence, tolerance, and respiratory depression, and clinical concerns like physical dependence and addiction. Other health conditions associated with opioid treatment include delayed gastric emptying, hyperalgesia, immunologic and hormonal dysfunction, muscle rigidity, and myoclonus. The study indicated that several clinical trials are on-going to find additional therapies that may alleviate these side effects. Alternative treatments and/or routes of administration may also be helpful to patients.

Peruvian Green Velvet Tarantula venom as safe and novel painkillers 

In 2014, Yale University researchers identified a protein from the venom of Peruvian green velvet tarantula that reduces activity in pain-transmitting neurons. The researchers selected the toxins from a tarantula species variety. They were able to find one that blocked TRPA 1, an ion channel on pain-sensing neurons that are involved in inflammation and neuropathic pain. 

The researchers noted that the spider toxins were tested on only one of the suspected human pain channels, and researchers believe that given the diversity of spider toxins, they will find other pain channels. The new screening method used by researchers has the potential to search for different spiders' toxins that may be used as pain-killing treatment.