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Scary Medical Treatments ThatActually WorkBy Lisa Collier CoolOct 30, 2013

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 A witches‟ brew of spooky substances—from saliva of vampire bats and Gila

monsters to centipede venom and even snake oil—could be tomorrow‟s cures for

dangerous diseases, as scientists turn to “extreme biology” in their quest for

potentially lifesaving discoveries.

In one of the most intriguing studies, stroke patients at about 60 US medical

centers are being offered an experimental clot-busting drug that has been

nicknamed “Draculin” because it‟s derived from enzymes found in the saliva of

the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus).

These enzymes are a natural blood-thinner that the fanged predators inject into

the mammals they bite in order to get a larger blood meal. The drug contains a

purified form of the enzymes to dissolve the blood clots that cause ischemic

stroke (the most common form of stroke).

“Draculin” Showing Great Promise to Save Stroke

Patients

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The new drug, desmoteplase, is showing “great promise” in two ongoing phrase

3 clinical trials called DIAS-3 and DIAS-4, reports Philip B. Gorelick, MD,

neurologist and medical director, Saint Mary‟s Mercy Hospital‟s Hauenstein

Neuroscience Center and the Co-director of the US DIAS Study Clinical

Coordinating Center.

Currently, there is only one FDA-approved clot-busting drug for ischemic stroke:

tPA (tissue plasma activator), which must be given within 3 hours of onset of

stroke symptoms. But very few stroke victims get to the hospital fast enough to

qualify, says Dr. Gorelick.

That‟s because stroke is typically not painful and patients may not recognize the

symptoms—which include dizziness, sudden numbness or weakness in the face,

arm or leg (especially on one side of the body), confusion, and blurry vision—as

a life-threatening medical emergency. Every year, more than 795,000 Americans

suffer a stroke and nearly 130,000 die, according to the CDC. 

Desmoteplase could extend the lifesaving treatment window up to nine hours and

has shown an excellent safety profile in the clinical trials, US and German

researchers reported earlier this year . The randomized, double-blind trials will

ultimately include 880 patients.

“Desmoteplase seems to have less toxicity and lower risk for brain bleeding than

tPA—and has a higher fibrinogen specificity, meaning that it gloms on to clots

more effectively,” reports Dr. Gorelick. “Because the drug has a longer half life

than tPA, it also gives patients a better chance to avoid having the clot recur.” If

Draculin ultimately wins FDA-approval, it would be the first new stroke drug in

nearly 20 years.

Don‟t Get Spooked: Keep Kids Safe This Halloween 

Is “Snake Oil” a Potential Cure for Heart Disease? 

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Best known for swallowing alligators and other large prey whole, pythons turn out

to have very big hearts that may hold the secret to treating human cardiovascular

disorders, including heart failure.

Leslie Leinwand, chief scientific officer of BioFrontiers Institute, has embraced

“extreme biology,” in potentially groundbreaking research on “snake oil,” found in

Burmese pythons‟ blood after a meal. The huge snakes can survive with as little

as one meal a year.

 After chowing down, the snakes‟ triglyceride levels rise as much as 50-fold and

their hearts balloon in size—in a beneficial way. Furthermore, Leinwand and

colleagues identified 3 fatty acids in python blood, which they call „snake oil,‟ that

also increase the size of the hearts of fasting pythons and healthy mice. The

researchers reported this in a 2011 paper in Science. Since then, she says, “we

did more testing and found that the changes in mouse hearts treated with these

fatty acids are similar to what occurs due to regular, vigorous exercise.” 

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 According to Leinwand, “Athletes like Michael Phelps have large, strong hearts

and exercise is one of the best ways to improve heart health or even reverse

disease in some cases. But people with some cardiac conditions, such as heart

failure, aren‟t able to exercise enough to achieve this type of beneficial change.”  

Instead, heart failure patients typically have large, but weak hearts that don‟t

pump blood very well. Leinwand and team are now seeking funding for studies to

find out if “snake oil” is helpful for animals with heart disease. If so, it might

ultimately lead to new treatments for people.

13 Health Myths Busted 

Worms, Gila Monsters and Other Weird MedicalTreatments

 As investigations into "extreme biology" become more common, creepy crawlies

are finding their way into more medical research and treatments:

•  Using Gila monster spit to treat diabetes and obesity. The FDA-approved

diabetes drug, Byetta (exenatide), contains a synthetic form of a hormone

found in the saliva of venomous lizards called Gila monsters. In a three-

year study of type 2 diabetics, treatment with the drug lead to both weight

loss and sustained improvement in blood sugar levels. The lizard hormone

is similar to one naturally found in the human digestive tract that boosts

insulin production when blood glucose rises. A 2012 animal study also

found that the lizard-spit drug may help curb chocolate and food cravings,

potentially offering new hope for those with obesity or eating disorders. 

•  Centipede venom to combat pain.  A peptide found in Chinese red-headed

centipede venom could be a remarkably powerful painkiller, researchers

report. Indeed, in an animal study, the venom proved more potent than

morphine and even at high doses, didn‟t cause any side effects. The

peptide acts on a protein that transmits pain signals up the spinal cord to

the brain, according to new research published in Proceedings of the

National Academy of Sciences. 

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•  Worms to battle bowel and autoimmune disorders. Intestinal parasites

could be a new weapon against autoimmune diseases including type 1

diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and Crohn‟s disease (a painful bowel

disorder). Some scientists, including immunologist Dr. William Guase of

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, theorize that a lack of parasites in

our overly clean modern world may explain why rates of intestinal and

autoimmune disorders are skyrocketing. Dr. Gause theorizes in the past,

when worm infection was common, people developed a protective

response called type 2 immunity to improve healing from intestinal injuries

caused by the tiny parasites. In his study, people with compromised

immune systems will be treated with live worms (on a short-term basis). A

small British study is investigating worm therapy for multiple sclerosis,

BBC News reports. Maggots and leeches to improve wound healing. An ancient treatment is newagain. With growing numbers of patient suffering from chronic wound infectionsthat are resistant to antibiotics, doctors are turning to leeches and even medicinalmaggots, which eat bacteria and secrete enzymes that dissolve dead tissue,while leaving healthy tissue intact. “Studies indicate that about 40% to 50% ofwounds treated with maggot therapy as the last alternative before amputationwere healed, and the limbs were saved," Dr. Ronald Sherman, a pathologist atUC Irvine, told Medscape. What‟s more, maggots have actually received FDAclearance as “medical devices.” Both leech and maggot treatments for certainwounds are even covered by some insurance plans.