Inflammation drug could be repurposed to treat toxic snake bites
A drug used to treat inflammation could be repurposed to treat toxic snake bites from African spitting cobras, a team at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine have discovered. Indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa, spitting cobras release a potent venom in their bites, resulting in rapid destruction of skin, muscle, and bone – a condition clinically known as dermo-necrosis. The researchers found that, when applied to the site of a spitting cobra bite, the small molecule drug – clinically known as varespladib – was highly effective in blocking one of the most damaging toxins released by the snakes’ venom, almost completely stopping the onset of symptoms. Current antivenom treatments are designed to prevent death but do little to address the local effects of snakebites, which often result in permanent disability, said Dr Steven Hall, a lecturer in pharmacology at the University of Lancaster and a co-author of the study. “The bite of an African spitting cobra is incredibly toxic, causing a huge amount of tissue damage, a lot of pain, and very rapidly that damage creeps …