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Lethal Box Jellyfish Stings Can Be Treated With Zinc, Research Finds
This post comes to us from Planetsave.com. For more along these lines, visit Planetsave or some of its most popular categories: Global Warming, Science, Going Green Tips, Animals, or 10 Friday Photos.
The venom from arguably the most venomous animal in the world, the box jellyfish, can be significantly slowed down simply by administering zinc, new research has found. The Chironex species of box jellyfish is one of the most venomous animals in the world, it is capable of very rapidly killing a human with their sting. The venom works by “rapidly punching holes in human red blood cells,” which zinc slows down according to research from the University of Hawaii.
“The researchers developed ways to extract venom from the jellyfish, and tested it on human blood and on mice. They found that the venom created pores in human red blood cells, making them leak large amounts of potassium, which causes cardiac arrest and death.”
As Yanagihara elaborates, “For over 60 years researchers have sought to understand the horrifying speed and potency of the venom of the Australian box jellyfish, arguably the most venomous animal in the world. We have found that a previously disregarded hemolysin can cause an avalanche of reactions in cells. This includes an almost instantaneous, massive release of potassium that can cause acute cardiovascular collapse and death.”
The researchers treated this by administering a zinc compound that inhibits this process. They found “that the treatment could slow the pore-forming process in cells, and increased survival times in the mice treated with the compound, zinc gluconate. The research suggests that the venom’s capacity to increase potassium levels is what makes it so dangerous, and that rapid administration of zinc may be a potential life-saver in human sting victims.”
The research was just published December 12th in the open access journal PLOS ONE.
Source: Public Library of Sciences
Image Credit: Robert Hartwick; Yanagihara AA, Shohet RV (2012) Cubozoan Venom-Induced Cardiovascular Collapse Is Caused by Hyperkalemia and Prevented by Zinc Gluconate in Mice. PLoS ONE 7(12): e51368. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0051368; Alvaro E. Migotto
Lethal Box Jellyfish Stings Can Be Treated With Zinc, Research Finds was originally posted on: PlanetSave
2012-12-13 05:40:52
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