Study: Australian Spider Venom Could Save Heart Attack Victims
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Australian researchers say a treatment found in the
venom of one of the world’s deadliest spiders could save the lives of heart attack victims.
A team from the University of Queensland studied the poison from the Fraser Island funnel-web spider in eastern Australia. They say the venom contains what could be a life-saving molecule, or peptide.
The peptide could block so-called death signals sent to cells after a heart attack, when blood flow to the heart is reduced. A reduction in blood flow cuts off oxygen to the heart muscles. This results in a message being sent in the body for heart cells to die.