And Along Came A Spider...With Potential Benefits For Stroke Victims

In what could be a boon for biotech, scientists in Australia have discovered that one of the world’s deadliest spiders has a chemical compound that may significantly benefit stroke victims.

"We believe that we have, for the first time, found a way to minimize the effects of brain damage after a stroke," Glenn King from the University of Queensland Institute for Molecular Bioscience told the Australian Associated Press.

The arachnid in question is the Fraser Island funnel spider, which some experts describe as the world's deadliest. It can cause death in 15 tortuous minutes.

Don't Squash This Spider

The secret of stroke recovery is a peptide found inside the spider, which researchers found slows the death of brain cells in rats after they suffer an induced stroke. A peptide is a compound consisting of two or more amino acids linked in a chain.

In a land of deadly spiders and snakes, the funnel spider venom is already highly coveted for its anti-venom, which can be useful for poisonous spider bites from other species. Local media even show tips on how to catch funnel spiders.

Venom often provides cures for snake and spider bites, but Queensland researchers constantly mine spider, centipede and scorpion venom for new remedies to develop offbeat pharmaceuticals for chronic pain, epilepsy and strike.

After cardiac arrest, strokes are the second-leading cause of death in the world.

“Six million people die each year from stroke, and 5 million survivors are left with a permanent disability. Moreover, the neuronal damage caused by stroke often triggers a progressive decline in cognitive function that doubles the risk of dementia for stroke survivors,” the study's authors said. “Despite this massive global disease burden, there are no approved drugs for treating the neuronal injury caused to the brain by the oxygen deprivation occurring during an ischemic stroke.”

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