Venom from spiders, snakes and scorpions can lead to excruciating pain, infection, and death, but scientists have been developing ways to turn this deadly substance into treatments for issues ranging from erectile dysfunction, heart attacks and even cancer.

For three decades, researchers in Brazil have been studying bites in humans from the banana spider, one of the most poisonous spiders in the world, and discovered that men who had been bitten experienced an unusual side effect: persistent erections that lasted for several hours. 

Now, those researchers are studying how the banana spider’s venom could be used in a lotion to help men with erectile dysfunction. 

Protein found in snake venom has been used in some drugs for high blood pressure, heart failure, and heart attack due to its ability to stop blood clots.

And venom from scorpions could help kill certain kinds of cancer cells. 

Here, DailyMail.com highlights the poisonous venoms scientists believe could be medical game-changers. 

Banana Spiders

The Brazilian banana spider, also known as the 'armed spider,' is one of the world's most venomous spiders. Within 30 minutes, someone bit by one of these spiders will experience blood pressure changes, fast or slow heart rate, nausea, abdominal pain, blurred vision, and convulsions

The Brazilian banana spider, also known as the 'armed spider,' is one of the world's most venomous spiders. Within 30 minutes, someone bit by one of these spiders will experience blood pressure changes, fast or slow heart rate, nausea, abdominal pain, blurred vision, and convulsions

The Brazilian banana spider, also known as the ‘armed spider,’ is one of the world’s most venomous spiders. Within 30 minutes, someone bit by one of these spiders will experience blood pressure changes, fast or slow heart rate, nausea, abdominal pain, blurred vision, and convulsions

For 30 years, researchers have been baffled by a side effect of venom from the Brazilian banana spider, also known as the ‘armed spider.’ Men who were bitten had prolonged and unwanted erections, some of which lasted as long as four hours. 

Now, scientists are working to harness that effect into a treatment for erectile dysfunction, which affects about 30 million American men, twice as many as in the early 2000s. 

Researchers from the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil are testing a component of the spider’s venom, BZ371A, which they believe boosts blood flow across the body. 

The team has completed a phase one safety trial in both men and women and is preparing for additional trials. 

A separate pilot test carried out on men and women found topical application of BZ371A- applying the medicine directly to the skin- resulted in an increase in blood flow to the applied area, and for men, this facilitated an erection. 

This development could help the millions of men who can’t take traditional pill-form erectile dysfunction medications, such as Viagra and Cialis.

It is estimated about one in three men cannot take currently approved drugs due to health conditions that would make taking them dangerous.

Snakes

Researchers believe snake venom helps prevent blood clots, which, in the long term, could reduce the risk of heart attacks

Researchers believe snake venom helps prevent blood clots, which, in the long term, could reduce the risk of heart attacks

Researchers believe snake venom helps prevent blood clots, which, in the long term, could reduce the risk of heart attacks

Many snakes are so venomous a single bite could kill in just seconds. However, the venom in some could be used to treat several heart issues, research suggests. 

Captopril, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1981, is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for high blood pressure in the US. And one of its primary ingredients is venom from the Brazilian pit viper, one of the world’s deadliest snakes. 

By the 1990s, two more drugs emerged- eptifibatide and tirofiban- which were based on venoms from the dusky pygmy rattlesnake and the saw-scaled viper. These drugs are used to treat angina, a type of chest pain. 

Researchers believe the venom helps prevent blood clots, which, in the long term, could reduce the risk of heart attacks. 

A 2017 study in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology found snake venom alleviated blood clots without the risk of additional bleeding, reducing heart attack and stroke risk.

Komodo Dragons

The venom from Komodo dragons could reduce the risk of blood clots and strokes

The venom from Komodo dragons could reduce the risk of blood clots and strokes

The venom from Komodo dragons could reduce the risk of blood clots and strokes

The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard on Earth, weighing as much as 200 pounds and traveling as fast as 12 miles per hour. While venom from this lizard’s bite could be fatal to humans, it may also help prevent strokes, heart attacks, and pulmonary embolisms.

Similar to snake venom and captopril, a 2017 study from the University of Queensland in Australia found Komodo dragon venom could cut into a combination of three different chains of the protein fibrinogen, which causes blood clots to form. 

As many as 100,000 Americans die from blood clots every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate.

The endangered lizard also has the GLP-1 agonist exenatide, which works similarly to Ozempic’s active ingredient semaglutide to treat diabetes and aid in weight loss. 

Scorpions 

Researchers believe scorpion venom could help treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), which has just a 6.9 percent survival rate

Researchers believe scorpion venom could help treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), which has just a 6.9 percent survival rate

Researchers believe scorpion venom could help treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), which has just a 6.9 percent survival rate

Scorpions use the toxins in their venom to target and kill prey instantly, but researchers believe the venom could also prove deadly to cancer cells. 

Researchers at City of Hope Medical Center in California have tested the effects of scorpion venom on glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a type of brain cancer with a survival rate of less than 10 percent. 

The team implemented the venom into chimeric antigen receptor t-cell (CAR-T) therapy, a form of immunotherapy, which uses the power of a patient’s immune system to fight a disease.

The scorpion’s venom contains chlorotoxin (CLTX), which researchers found was able to target cancerous cells without affecting healthy cells in the brain or other organs. The treatment is currently in clinical trials.

About 14,500 Americans are diagnosed with GBM, and only 6.9 percent are expected to live past five years. The survival rate has been virtually unchanged for decades, according to the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS). 

The cancer has taken the lives of Arizona Senator John McCain and President Joe Biden’s son, Beau Biden.

Northern Short-Tailed Shrew 

Unlike many other venomous species, the northern short-tailed shrew doesn't produce enough venom to kill a human

Unlike many other venomous species, the northern short-tailed shrew doesn't produce enough venom to kill a human

Unlike many other venomous species, the northern short-tailed shrew doesn’t produce enough venom to kill a human

The northern short-tailed shrew, native to northeast North America, is one of just four orders of mammals that produce venom. Unlike many other venomous species, it doesn’t produce enough of the poison to kill a human. Instead, the substance causes pain and swelling. 

And now, the shrew’s venom, produced in the animal’s saliva, is being used in clinical trials to treat certain cancers.

Canadian pharmaceutical company Soricimed Biopharma Inc. is currently in phase 2 clinical trials of a cancer drug that contains venom from the northern short-tailed shrew to test if it can treat solid-tumor cancers, such as breast, colon, bladder, prostate, and lung cancers. 

However, additional research is limited. 

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk

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