Posted on 07/11/2006 3:54:26 PM PDT by GretchenM
Photo caption: "The Magician's Cone Snail [in photo, above] hunts by paralysing fish."
What about the poor snails? We shouldn't exploit lower life forms.
I know ... I know ...
but it's one of those cycle-of-life things (to quote Hopper in "A Bug's Life").
expect that all the people now frequenting medical marijuana establishments for legitimate chronic pain will rush out for this, since it, too, will do away with their pain!
Everyone else thinks so, too, right?!
I'd read about this in the research stage a few years back. Thanks for posting this!
I wonder what the side effects are. {{{sigh}}}
Cone shells can be lethal to people collecting them as well. Their poison is very potent.
There are millions with crumbling spines who will be begging their Docs to give this a try....hopefully it will evolve to longterm usefulness in facet and medial branch blocks, too.
non-adicting? When they came out with heroin they claimed it was non-addicting. SSRIs, Ritalin, Vallium, Ambien... the list goes on and on of new drugs that were touted loudly to be non-addicting. Each turned out to be worse than the older drugs they replaced.
I don't believe it
"Deadly" snail? Yeah, but a bullet in the brain will also take away pain.
Well, actually, Zincontide has a number of side effects, such as the discomfort of having to take a shot right into the spinal column. Also, the difference between a theraputic dose and a toxic dose, is, I believe, not so wide.
But, this is only the first of the new drugs based on the peptides of cone shells,
More promising, in my opinion is a drug called ACV1, still in human trials, which 1- does not require to be injected into the spine, only subcutaneous, 2- very safe, 3- no possibility of abuse, 4- may be orally available.
Anyone interested can google ACV1 and find many articles.
This present conopeptide drug (Zincontide) is only the first, and the crudest of what may well become a widely used part of our drug arsenal.
Head-On, Apply directly to the forehead
Head-On, Apply directly to the forehead
Head-On, Apply directly to the forehead
Interesting. Thank you.
jm
The Conus Textile and Conus Geographus are also deadly.
http://grimwade.biochem.unimelb.edu.au/cone/main.html
http://seashellsofnsw.org.au/Conidae/Pages/Conus_textile.htm
http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/findings/sept02/snails.html
http://www.coneshell.net/pages/c_geographus.htm
The only side effect is it causes some people to be paralyzed from the upper lip down to their feet.
Check this out (ACV1 related, but still a conopeptide for pain)-
A non-addictive and effective painkiller? Quick, better make it illegal!
Yeah! Because after all, who wouldn't want to walk around 24/7 with a tube inserted into their spine and a pump in their pocket. Awesome!
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