Spider Venom To Become The Next Viagra – Scientists Say The Arachnid Bites Gives Hours- Long Erections
Could spider venom be the next Viagra? Scientists studying arachnid bites say they may give hours-long erections.
Venom of the Brazilian Wandering Spider contains ingredient PnTx2-6
This can cause priapism – a condition that causes painful erections
Scientists have now been able to create PnTx2-6 using caterpillar cells
Testing on humans may follow soon, but treatment could be years away
Tremors, excessive salivation and difficulty breathing are all signs you may have been bitten by a Brazilian Wandering Spider.
In a number of cases, the venom of these arachnids can cause another unexpected symptom; intensely painful erections that last for hours at a time.
Now scientists from around the world are hoping to harvest PnTx2-6, the ACTIVE
ingredient in the spider’s venom, to create a natural Viagra that can work in 20 minutes.
Tremors, excessive salivation and difficulty breathing are all signs you may have been bitten by a Brazilian Wandering Spider (pictured). In a number of cases, the venom of these arachnids can cause another unexpected symptom; intensely painful erections that last for hours at a time
Brazilian Wandering Spiders can cause priapism – a condition which occurs when blood becomes trapped in the penis, leading to abnormally long-lasting erections.
To discover exactly how PnTx2-6 does this, Gwen Pearson from Wired reported that researchers cut off the penis of a dead mouse, and connected it to an electrical stimulator.
They discovered that not only does the venom work, but it also has fewer side effects compared with existing erectile dysfunction drugs, such as Viagra.
Although drugs such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra have revolutionised treatment in the last ten years, around 30 per cent of men who take them see no improvement. A drug made from spider venom could prove to be an effective alternative. STOCK pictured used
FORGET VIAGRA, JUST EAT GREEK
Never mind those little blue pills – men who have problems between the sheets could reinvigorate themselves simply by eating a Mediterranean diet.
Eating fish, salads and olive oil, and enjoying the odd glass of wine, could transform the lives of men suffering from impotence, according to Greek cardiologist Athanasios Angelis.
He said his research had shown that consuming such healthy foods helped clean out blood vessels, especially the narrow ones in the penis that are essential for a man to perform.
Dr Angelis, an expert on erectile dysfunction at Hippokration Hospital in Athens, said: ‘The Mediterranean DIET is well known to be a HEALTHY DIET, one that is associated with longevity, wellbeing, lower incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease.
‘And this is very important, because people can choose this type of diet to prevent or restore their vascular health.’
He explained that when a man had problems achieving an erection, ‘it can be a sign of worse health problems to come’, because the blood vessels in the penis were ‘very, very sensitive’ to what was happening in the rest of the body.
‘Adopting a HEALTHY DIET and lifestyle can help reverse moderate erectile dysfunction,’ Dr Angelis said.
Back in 2011, when the research took place, Dr Kenia Nunes, a physiologist at the college, said: ‘The venom of the Phoneutria nigriventer spider is a very rich mixture of several molecules.
‘These molecules are called toxins, and then we have various toxins in this venom with different ACTIVITY.
‘Because of this, when a human is bitten by this spider, we can observe many different symptoms including priapism, a condition in which the penis is CONTINUALLY erect.’
Separate tests carried out on rats show the venom boosts performance by increasing the release of nitric oxide, a chemical that dilates blood vessels and improves blood flow.
Since then, researchers have also successfully recreated the PnTx2-6 gene and infected a culture of caterpillar cells which produced the spider toxin.
This artificial venom proved effective on rats.
Ms Pearson reports that now scientists can create more of the venom, trials to determine the toxicity of the drug in humans may take place – although a product is likely to be years away.
Although drugs such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra have revolutionised treatment in the last ten years, around 30 per cent of men who take them see no improvement.
For these men, the only other options are to inject drugs straight into the penis, or use a pump that manually increases blood supply to the organ. Neither is very popular.
A drug made from spider venom could prove to be an effective alternative.
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