Sea Snail takes Pain away
A deadly sea snail found on the Great Barrier Reef could revolutionise treatment for sufferers from chronic pain. Scientists at the University of Queensland have found that the toxin, which the snail uses to hunt its prey, can accurately target pain without the severe side effects of other pain treatments.
With one in five Australians suffering from chronic pain at some point in their lives, the potential benefits are enormous. Normal conventional pain treatments such as morphine have a lot of problems with side effects- ranging from motor problems to drowsiness, up to death- of ingesting large amounts.
The particular toxin, which has been isolated from the snail, is very specific, targeting a receptor in nerve cells, which is involved in pain and nothing else. So it has no side effects.
So far it has only been trialled on animals. But the next step is to move on to clinical trials with humans, after the toxin has been synthesized so it can be made artificially. The goal will be to give it to people who have severe pain., such as people with diabetes who suffer from neuropathic pain.
