An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus (starting point) for clot formation (thrombosis) and embolization. The word is from Greek: ἀνεύρυσμα, aneurysma, 'dilation', from ἀνευρύνειν, aneurynein, 'to dilate'. As an aneurysm increases in size, the risk of rupture increases, leading to uncontrolled bleeding. ...

aneurysm

Medicinal-products-from-very-toxic-animals

Medicinal products from very toxic animals

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You would never voluntarily ingest snake venom or smear your skin with insect venom, would you? Well, before you disavow anything like this, you should know that there is actually a long history of transforming some of the most toxic substances on Earth into useful and even sometimes life-saving drugs.

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Scientists are increasingly looking at the deadliest corners of the animal world for drugs, as the poisons of some animals are full of molecules that evolved to perform very specific activities in small quantities. In other words, they are ideal pharmaceuticals.

Botulinum-toxin

Botulinum toxin 

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Botulinum toxin is a neurotoxic protein that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and other similar species, causing mild injection site paralysis. Also known as Botox, it won't bring you back from the brink of death. In fact, one gram would be enough to kill a million people, but by paralyzing the muscles of the face in very small doses, you can deprive yourself of several wrinkles. However, with this result comes some serious risks for cosmetic use, including dysphagia, muscle weakness and allergic reactions. 1

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Botox was originally used as a treatment for ophthalmic conditions such as strabismus (crossed eyes) and twitching eyelids. Today, it is also used to prevent migraines and is just one of many terrible substances that are successfully used.

Captopril

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The oldest toxic-inspired pharmaceutical product, and indeed the one that started looking for others, is captopril. It appeared in pharmacies in 1981 and almost instantly became popular because it treated hypertension or high blood pressure, which is a prerequisite to develop heart or kidney disease and get a heart attack, stroke or aneurysm, and all thanks to the poison of a South American viper.

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One of the great effects of this snake venom is the alarmingly rapid drop in blood pressure. This drop is useful for snakes, because the brain and muscles from which their food (other animals) have to escape do not work so well without blood. Because snakes hunt mammals, scientists believe that if they could understand how the poison works, they could better understand how our bodies regulate blood pressure.&nbsp;

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It turns out that the blood pressure regulation system is quite complex, but one major way our bodies raise blood pressure is by activating a protein called angiotensin. One of the important things angiotensin does in its active form is to make the muscle cells lining the blood vessels constrict. This means higher pressure.&nbsp;

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Scientists discovered that snake venom contains a molecule that blocks the enzyme that makes angiotensin active angiotensin the converting enzyme, or ACE. With few chemical changes, they create captopril, the first ACE inhibitor, and although captopril itself is no longer widely prescribed, ACE inhibitors are still administered every day.

Ziconotide

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Here in focus is the amazing and deadly marble cone snail. These slow-moving snails can eat fast-moving fish because their venom quickly paralyzes prey and is very strong. However, the advantage is that their sting does not hurt, and this is because some of the hundreds of conotoxins, the small protein toxins that cone snails produce, target the nerves that signal pain.

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Almost 40 years ago, a student who had just graduated from high school discovered that one of these toxins reduced pain about 1,000% more strongly than morphine without causing addiction. This is because it kills pain more directly and specifically than morphine and other opioids. Opioids reduce pain by binding to opioid receptors, which triggers a cascade that, among other things, reduces the activity of calcium channels that nerve cells in the spinal cord need to communicate with the brain.&nbsp;

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The toxin from the cone snails simply blocks these channels directly, and this means that there are not so many adverse effects. Your body can't develop a tolerance to it like it can to opioids, and it works in cases where opioids don't. However, this is not a perfect medicine, as it has side effects, such as difficulty walking or psychiatric symptoms, and should be given in specific places and with specific doses.

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Ziconotide is in turn a newer, intrathecal analgesic drug used to treat chronic pain. His indication, according to the FDA, is for the treatment of chronic severe pain in patients with intolerance or refractoriness to systemic analgesics or intrathecal morphine. 2

Exenatide

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There is a frighteningly impressive creature that you can read that they call it "the monster Gila". The poison of this poisonous lizard can lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.

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The so-called Gila monsters are lizards that live in the deserts of North America. Their poison is not so dangerous for humans, but it is extremely painful the bite itself, and one of the ingredients looks a lot like a hormone that our bodies naturally produce after we eat food. This hormone, called glucagon-like peptide 1, triggers the release of insulin, and because insulin is a hormone that tells cells to take in more sugar from the blood, it lowers blood sugar.

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We can't just give humans more of human protein to lower their blood sugar because it breaks down too quickly by enzymes, but the protein in the poison of Gila lizards has a superpower: it's extremely stable. Its action lasts more than 70 times longer in the blood than in the human species, which means that it is much easier to use.&nbsp;

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It's not clear why monsters have this super stable sugar-lowering hormone. Scientists only discovered it because they systematically study the poison to see what the different components do, but a synthetic version of the Gila hormone has been on the market for more than a decade. In addition to helping control blood sugar, it also supports insulin it produces healthy beta cells in the pancreas and makes people feel fuller. 3

Linaclotide-and-Plecanatide

Linaclotide and Plecanatide

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These drugs work by binding to and activating receptors on the cells that line your gut, telling them to release water and salt. This, in turn, softens the stool, facilitating bowel movements. Scientists aren't entirely sure how, but animal studies suggest that these drugs also trigger pain-relieving nerve pathways in the colon.&nbsp;

Cantharidin

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The next toxin named cantharidin comes from a type of beetle. If you lubricate one of these beetles, the cantharidin in the blood and other tissues of the beetle will burn your skin, creating blisters. If you swallow too many of these beetles, you will have a lot of problems. According to some estimates, just seven drops of the substance are enough to kill you. In small, controlled doses, cantharidin can remove warts and treat a condition known as molluscum contagiosum.

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Biologists believe that male beetles produce this thing as a defensive weapon, as it protects them from being eaten by predators and they can also splash it out at threat. A fun fact is that they also pass on some of it to females during mating with a so-called wedding gift to protect the next generation.&nbsp;

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However, instead of leaving these beetles alone, people have been trying to use their toxins for centuries to treat a host of health conditions, as well as a strong aphrodisiac. 4

Stichodactyla-toxin

Stichodactyla toxin

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Stichodactyla helianthus is a tropical anemony known as the "solar anemone" and part of the order Actiniaria. The Caribbean solar anemone is armed with poison-filled stinging cells that can stun prey and repel predators. It is likely that its paralytic poison could revolutionize the treatment of autoimmune diseases.&nbsp;

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Back in the 1990s, a scientist discovered that one of the paralysis-inducing peptides in anemone venom was special. Called stichodactyl toxin, it does its job by blocking a certain type of potassium channel one that in us happens to be involved in activating a specific set of immune cells.

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These cells are the older T cells that have already encountered potential pathogens, but remain in the tissues as a form of immunological memory. They also end up the cells behind many autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and multiple sclerosis, because they sometimes target parts of the body instead of foreign substances. So finding something that selectively damages these cells could lead to relatively effective and targeted therapies for autoimmune conditions, but it has proven to be a real challenge at this stage.

People are facing a huge range of diseases of different origins and innovative approaches to develop applicable therapies and new methods of treatment are constantly being sought. In this regard, one of the most suitable places to look for remedies is nature in the face of herbs, plants and some poisonous animal species.
One of the best ways to make sure we have the next generation of drugs is to protect all animal species, even those that can kill you, because they may also hold the key to curing diseases, such as autoimmune diseases or cancer.

7 drugs that are extracted from highly toxic animals

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Бетина Цветкова

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Author: Yana Nencheva, Biochemist, PhD candidate in Biophysics

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The criteria for beauty always remains unattainable. Smooth skin, a symbol of youth, however, is always desired, and let's face it: especially women (very rarely men) tend to obsess over the subject. Half of the population on Earth is of the fair sex, so there is a reason why the cosmetic industry is looking for all sorts of wrinkle smoothing solutions.

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One of the most common substances declared to remove wrinkles is collagen, for which it is put everywhere - dietary supplements, creams, shampoos, etc.

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However, when collagen levels drop, wrinkles turn out to be the least of our problems.

What-exactly-is-collagen

What exactly is collagen

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Collagen is a protein that is a major structural component in connective tissues (skin and cartilage). The collagen share of proteins in the human body is between 1/3 and 1/4, making it the most common protein in our bodies.

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There are 28 different types of collagen according to its amino acid composition. The most common are five types of collagen, which according to their structures are:

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<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Collagen type 1: Located in skin, bones, tendons, internal organs, vascular ligature and makes up the highest percentage (90%) of all types of collagen in our body;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Collagen type 2: In cartilage, as their main component;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Collagen type 3: In the bone marrow and lymphatic tissues, which is often found together in structures with collagen type 1;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Collagen type 4: In the basement&nbsp;membrane (thin sheets of collagen that surround most types of tissues and act as a protective shell);</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Collagen type 5: In the hair and surfaces of cells, as well as in the placenta [ref. <a href="https://www.livescience.com/collagen.html?utm_campaign=meetedgar&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=meetedgar.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1</a>, <a href="https://www.bu.edu/aldolase/biochemistry/html_docs/CollagenTypes&amp;Disorders.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2</a>].</li>
</ul>

Lack-of-collagen-leads-to-age-related-problems

Lack of collagen leads to age-related problems

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The body's ability to produce collagen naturally decreases with age and this is normal. Factors that would speed up this process by adversely affecting natural collagen synthesis are excessive sun exposure, smoking and a uniform diet that does not provide the necessary amino acids [<a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/the-best-way-you-can-get-more-collagen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ref. 3</a>].

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When this happens, then our body changes to the appearance of:

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<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Wrinkles and sagging skin;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Firmer, less flexible tendons and ligaments;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Weakening of muscles;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Joint pain due to worn cartilage;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Gastrointestinal problems due to thinning of the mucous membrane in the digestive tract.</li>
</ul>

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10 curious facts about aging and how to slow it down

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However, the lack of collagen may also be associated with multiple genetic mutations. With the help of genetically modified mice with mutations in the genes responsible for collagen in the body, many aspects of the associated diseases have been clarified.

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It turns out that the role of collagen is critical for a wide range of diseases caused by over 1,000 mutations. These mutations are currently identified in 22 genes. Such diseases are:

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<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.bioseek.eu/en/eng/research/search?q=%D0%A5%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B8%D1%8F&amp;p=1&amp;st=1&amp;tp=9&amp;s=x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chondrodysplasia</a> - underdeveloped cartilage tissue,</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.bioseek.eu/en/eng/research/search?q=%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0%20%D0%9C%D1%83%D1%81%D0%BA%D1%83%D0%BB%D0%BD%D0%B0%20%D0%94%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%84%D0%B8%D1%8F&amp;p=1&amp;st=1&amp;tp=9&amp;s=x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Progressive muscular dystrophy</a> or so-called Bethlem myopathy,</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Some subtypes of <a href="https://www.bioseek.eu/en/eng/research/search?q=%D0%95%D0%BF%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B8%D1%81%20%D0%B1%D1%83%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B0&amp;p=1&amp;st=1&amp;tp=9&amp;s=x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">epidermolysis bullosis</a>,</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.bioseek.eu/en/eng/research/search?q=%D0%9A%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%85%20%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BC&amp;p=1&amp;st=1&amp;tp=9&amp;s=x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Knobloch syndrome,</a>which affects the retina,</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Some types of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bioseek.eu/en/eng/research/search?q=%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B0&amp;p=1&amp;st=1&amp;tp=9&amp;s=x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">osteoporosis</a> - bone damage,</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.bioseek.eu/en/eng/research/search?q=%D0%9E%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B0&amp;p=1&amp;st=1&amp;tp=9&amp;s=x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Osteoarthrosis</a> - joint damage,</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Arterial aneurysms and others [<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11310942/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ref. 4</a>].</li>
</ul>

Which-genes-are-related-to-lack-of-collagen

Which genes are related to lack of collagen

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There are 28 types of collagen for which multiple genes are responsible. Mutations in genes for the five most common types of collagen lead to the following diseases.

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Mutations in the COL1A1, COL1A2 genes lead to diseases in type 1 collagen:

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<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Osteogenesis imperfecta - a congenital disease characterized by fragile bone structures and improperly structured connective tissue. There is a severe and mild form that can be deadly.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"> Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) - not only mutations in these two genes lead to this disorder, which is characterized by deformities in connective tissue. Some types of mutations can be deadly because they lead to rupture of the arteries.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Infantile cortical hyperostosis (Caffey disease) - a disease in children that affects bones and is characterized by inflammation.</li>
</ul>

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Mutations in the COL2A1 gene lead to disease in collagen type 2:

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<ul>
<li>Collagenopathy type 2 and 11 - large groups of diseases affecting collagen cartilage tissue.</li>
</ul>

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Mutations in the COL3A1 gene lead to diseases in collagen type 3:

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<ul>
<li>Ellers-Danlos syndrome is also caused by this gene;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Dupuytren's disease (Dupuytren's contracture) - characterized by fibrous nodes under the skin of the palm.</li>
</ul>

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Mutations in the COL4A1, COL4A2, COL4A3, COL4A4, COL4A5, COL4A6 genes lead to diseases in collagen type 4:

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<ul>
<li>Alport syndrome - the disease develops in childhood or adolescent and is characterized by problems with the kidneys, eyes and deafness;</li>
<li>Goodpasture syndrome (anti-glomerular basement&nbsp;membrane disease)</li>
</ul>

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Mutations in the COL5A1, COL5A2, COL5A3 genes lead to disease in type 1 collagen:

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<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Ellers-Danlos syndrome is also caused by this gene, in this case its classic form.</li>
</ul>

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Foods-rich-in-collagen

Foods rich in collagen

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Our body breaks down the protein food taken down to amino acids, after which from these amino acids it builds the necessary types of proteins, including collagen. For this, if you get collagen-specific amino acids by following a balanced diet, it is best.

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<h4>This type of meal includes:</h4>

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<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">proteins - chicken, beef, eggs, dairy products, legumes, nuts and whole grains;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">a large amount of fresh vegetables and fruits - to provide a stable amount of antioxidants to protect the body from oxidative stress, which can negatively affect collagen [<a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/the-best-way-you-can-get-more-collagen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ref. 4</a>].</li>
</ul>

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<h1>Collagen products - do they help</h1>

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Collagen is a popular ingredient among dietary supplements and creams, but as the scientific journal LiveScience says, few scientific sources unequivocally support its effectiveness.

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Although collagen applied to a particular area has proven to work in wound treatment, Dr. Adelaide Hebert, professor of Dermatology and director of the Pediatric Dermatology Sector at the University of Texas Health Research Center, Houston, stresses that the evidence in favor of taking supplements is not conclusive when it comes to real benefits for hair, nails and skin.

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The use of collagen cream compared with the daily use of sunscreen and moisturizer with retinol or salicylic acid for example (according to the type of skin, the needs of a person) is weaker when maintaining the skin.

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Interestingly, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate dietary supplements (in particular those with collagen) the same way as it does to medicines. Many dietary supplements with collagen claim that they can improve the strength of bones, muscles, skin and heart, relieve joint pain, improve bowel activity. However, experts warn that if you are considering taking collagen supplements it is important to first take into account your diet and lifestyle, because the supplement alone will not help [<a href="https://www.livescience.com/collagen.html?utm_campaign=meetedgar&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=meetedgar.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ref. 1</a>].

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Read more:

Foods-rich-in-collagen_3_11

<a href="/p/zdravieto_ni_ie_v_opasnost_17_nachina_da_razpoznaiem_falshivata_informatsiia_5a170eb2_5bb9_4975_a3dc_aaf25af43989" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Our health is in danger: 17 ways to recognize false information</a>

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<a href="/p/7_stpki_v_izbora_na_kachiestviena_kozmietika_2b839f29_de72_4e6a_9285_13b57cc8d17a" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">8+1 steps in choosing quality cosmetics</a>

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<a href="/p/10_liubopitni_fakta_za_starieienieto_i_kak_da_gho_zabavim_359c758c_61cf_45c5_9da2_e588e3e54d79" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">10 curious facts about aging and how to slow it down</a>

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<a href="/p/iepighienietikata_ili_kak_nachint_na_zhivot_upravliava_ghienitie_ni_8ec805d0_069f_4823_89cd_c55d051a9610" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Epigenetics or how lifestyle governs our genes</a>

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<a href="/p/mutatsii_srieshchu_iestiestvien_podbor_e4a316a0_b5fd_4a51_8dc0_12a14405f8f2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Mutations vs. Natural Selection</a>

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What you need to know about collagen and how not to lose it