Scorpion Venom Protein to Cure Brain Tumors

On the 9th of July scientists announced that they have discovered a way to treat persistent pain experienced by people who suffer from various types of cancer and other painful severe diseases. The cure consisted in the Prialt drug, made from the venom of a deadly tropical sea snail. This was an extremely potent and powerful drug that could ease chronic pains of those that no longer responded to morphine therapy.

Researchers developed a hand-made venom, similar to the one produced by the predatory sea snail. They have also stated then that researchers all around the world are considering the highly beneficial effects venom extract or synthetic venom can have upon humans' health.

The scientists proved to be right, as a new research in the field has been developed recently and found that scorpion venom is very likely to treat malignant brain tumors. The medical team made a synthetic version of a protein found in the venom of Giant Yellow Israeli scorpions and tested it on 18 volunteers.

The results showed that the synthetic protein, called TM-601, can slow the growth of malignant brain tumors without affecting the healthy neuronal cells. The 18 individuals that participated in the study already had their malignant brain tumors surgically removed. However, after the surgical intervention on the deadly brain tumors there are always some of them left, which are extremely resistant to any kind of treatment and usually cannot be annihilated.

Introduced in the brain of the volunteers, the venom synthetic protein delivered active iodine through the blood barrier around the tumors to the gliomas (the most dangerous brain tumors.) After the experiment, the participants have been MRI scanned and 2 of them were found to be completely clear of brain tumors.

The study was carried out at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles and lead by Dr. Adam Mamelak. He stated: "Does that mean that the drug was miraculous? No. But we have shown that it is safe and that we should at least move forward."