Tarantula venom offers Irritable Bowel Syndrome cure; Scientists developing new drug [VIDEO]

African tarantulas may prove to be the new solution to chronic pain. A toxin in the spider’s venom is offering 10 percent of Australians suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) fresh hope of treating the disease. The international team of researchers involving Australian scientists from the University of Adelaide and University of Queensland, as well as scientists from the US, used tarantula spider’s venom to identify a specific protein involved in transmitting mechanical pain.

Scientists at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute have discovered a new pain pathway after experimenting on mice. The study, published in journal Nature, speaks of blocking a receptor to create a new type of painkiller. The scientists are now looking at “novel blockers” that can shut down a channel that becomes hypersensitive and plays an increased role in pain.

University of Adelaide associate professor Stuart Brierley told Herald Sun that snakes, spiders and tarantulas have “evolved over millions of years to hone their venoms to act on very specific channels.” This gives them tremendous leads in terms of possible drugs in future. However, developing IBS drugs from the tarantula venom may still take five to 10 years. The research team is working actively on several drug candidates.

“Spider venom should therefore be full of molecules that stimulate the pain-sensing nerves in our body, allowing us to discover new pain pathways by examining which nerves are activated when exposed to spider toxins,” UQ Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) Centre for Pain Research researcher professor Glenn King said in a statement.

Spiders and tarantulas make toxins in their body to defend themselves from predators and to kill prey. The most effective way to defend one from predators is to make them feel excruciating pain. Thus, their venom acts as “an effective tool for investigating pain signalling in the human body.”

The researchers found out that the spider venom activated a protein in nerves and muscles known as NaV1.1. It played a major role in transmitting and sensing pain. NaV1.1 is also present n pain-sensing nerves in the gut and underlies pathological levels of abdominal pain.

One in five Australians suffer from IBS including constipation, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. The scientists are now developing molecules to block NaV1.1 and reduce IBS pain in sufferers.

Watch how spider venom may help treat IBS pain here.