[ad_1]
TUCSON, AZ – Snakes are starting to play an important role in COVID-19 research. Scientists at the University of Arizona have discovered an enzyme, similar to that found in rattlesnake venom, which could be the cause of deaths from COVID-19.
“We found evidence that there was an enzyme, a snake-like enzyme, in the blood of people who were at extraordinarily high levels,” said Dr. Floyd Chilton, lead author of the study with the ‘University of Arizona, College of Agriculture. and Life Sciences.
Scientists have been working on this study for a year and a half. It was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The snake-like enzyme is found in healthy people at low levels to prevent bacterial infections. In severe cases of COVID-19, it does the opposite.
“These high levels of this enzyme look at these tissues in the organs and say, ‘you look like a bacteria, let’s tear your membranes. Let’s get these organs out of their misery, ”says Dr. Chilton.
Dr Chilton says what’s even more remarkable is where we can go from here in the fight against the pandemic.
“Can we come up with specific therapies that won’t care about the variant that comes with it?” Can we offer specific therapies to combat this devastating disease? Said Dr Chilton.
The researchers say current clinical trials on snakebites are contributing to these efforts. They can optionally reuse some of the treatments tested. This could one day lead to a viable option, other than vaccines, to prevent death in severe patients.
“This allows us to take a precision medicine approach to disease. We can do clinical trials and pick people who are at risk for this mechanism, and then specifically treat those people, ”says Dr. Chilton.
Their hope for the next step is an international multi-center clinical trial. They are working with global organizations to see how they can make this possible.
ABC15 asked a rattlesnake expert for his perspective on the study.
“For something that is almost as universally hated as rattlesnakes, it seems fitting, interesting and ironic, that the venom they have in rattlesnakes could be the key to getting out of this situation,” Bryan said. Hughes, owner of Rattlesnake Solutions.
You can find more information about the study here.
[ad_2]
Source link