Universal Antidote Could Treat Deadly Snakebites: New Antiparalytic Nasal Spray Shows Promise

Snakebites can be deadly but now, scientists may have taken a step toward creating a universal antidote. Scientists have tested the effectiveness of a nasally administered antiparalytic drug, and the results have been promising.

Snakebites can be a huge problem. The traditional treatment for snakebites is about 30 vials of antivenom. And even with antivenom, a patient can still take a while to recover. In India alone, snakes kill approximately a third as many people as AIDS and severely injure many more. It's estimated that as many as 75 percent of snakebite victims who die do so before they ever reach the hospital. That's why it's crucial to figure out potential new ways to treat venomous bites.

"Antivenom is necessary, but not sufficient to manage this problem," said Matthew Lewin, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Its limitations are fairly well known at this point and we need a better bridge to survival. It's ironic that virtually every medical organization and practitioner wears the snake symbol, yet we have no real effective treatments for the people getting bitten. Ninety-eight percent of snakebite victims live in poverty, which is perhaps why funding and innovation are lacking. The bottom line is that no one should die from a snake bite in the twenty-first century, and we're optimistic about this promising step."

In this case, the researchers tested the effectiveness of a nasally administered antiparalytic drug on mice injected with high doses of Indian cobra venom. The scientists found that mice that were injected with otherwise fatal doses of venom outlive and, in many cases, even survived after being treated with the antiparalytic agent, neostigmine.

Yet this isn't the only example of the antiparalytic agent working. In late June of 2013, the researchers accelerated the recovery of a snakebite victim on life support by using this method. After receiving the standard 30 vials of antivenom, the victim remained weak and suffered from facial paralysis. The scientists then administered the antiparalytic spray and within 30 minutes, the patient's facial paralysis was reversed and returned to her daily activities within two weeks.

The findings could be huge for treating snakebites in the future. A nasal spray, in theory, could be administered multiple times without needles. Currently, the scientists are working to test potential combinations in order to form a complete antidote with the spray.

The findings are published in the journal Clinical Case Reports.