Mar 25, 2022 05:44 PM
(This post was last modified: Mar 25, 2022 06:10 PM by C C.)
An 'alarming' discovery: Microplastics found in human blood for the first time (fitness)
https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/...tics-blood
[i]Microplastics were found in the blood of nearly 80% of people in a recent study published in Environment International, marking the first time the particles have ever been detected in human blood.[/b]
Can a poisonous sea snail replace morphine? (feeling pain free fitness)
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...104438.htm
INTRO: Bea Ramiro began to study the sea snail species Conus rolani more or less by chance. Together with two fishermen she was collecting material in the waters off the Philippine island of Cebu in 2018.
At the time, researchers knew that poison from the sea snail species Conus magus could be used as a painkiller. It can replace morphine and opioids, and some patients experience fewer side effects. Therefore, Bea Ramiro hoped she could find a new sea snail species whose poison had a similar or possibly even better effect.
In order to study sea snails, Bea Ramiro had to collect a lot of snails of the same species. And once the fishermen had reeled in the net and the snails had been divided into groups according to species, she only had enough snails of the species Conus rolani to do a proper study.
Today, Bea Ramiro is glad that this large, white and brown snail six to seven centimetres long was the only species left.
Because a new study from the University of Copenhagen to which she has contributed shows that poison from Conus rolani can function as a painkiller. The researchers have learned that a particular substance from the poison can block out pain in mice for an even longer time than morphine.
"We have discovered a so-called toxin that blocks out pain in a completely different way than well-known drugs like morphine, and hopefully this will enable us to avoid some of the most damaging effects of morphine on humans," explains Associate Professor Helena Safavi, who has headed the study.
Today, medicine based on the sea snail Conus magus is already available in the market for treatment of e.g. back injuries and cancer. But it is both expensive and difficult to work with because it has to be injected into the central nervous system via e.g. a spinal implant.
So even though we already have a drug based on a sea snail which for some people involves fewer side effects than morphine and opioids, it is not ideal due to the price and the circumstances.
Therefore, the researchers behind the new study hope the discovery of the effect of poison from Conus rolani can help them develop a more efficient painkiller.
"We need a better alternative for people who are in great pain -- an alternative that is less addictive than e.g. morphine and opioids. In Denmark, opioids do not represent a huge problem, but in other parts of the world it is quite extensive," says Helena Safavi from the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen... (MORE - details)
https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/...tics-blood
[i]Microplastics were found in the blood of nearly 80% of people in a recent study published in Environment International, marking the first time the particles have ever been detected in human blood.[/b]
Can a poisonous sea snail replace morphine? (feeling pain free fitness)
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...104438.htm
INTRO: Bea Ramiro began to study the sea snail species Conus rolani more or less by chance. Together with two fishermen she was collecting material in the waters off the Philippine island of Cebu in 2018.
At the time, researchers knew that poison from the sea snail species Conus magus could be used as a painkiller. It can replace morphine and opioids, and some patients experience fewer side effects. Therefore, Bea Ramiro hoped she could find a new sea snail species whose poison had a similar or possibly even better effect.
In order to study sea snails, Bea Ramiro had to collect a lot of snails of the same species. And once the fishermen had reeled in the net and the snails had been divided into groups according to species, she only had enough snails of the species Conus rolani to do a proper study.
Today, Bea Ramiro is glad that this large, white and brown snail six to seven centimetres long was the only species left.
Because a new study from the University of Copenhagen to which she has contributed shows that poison from Conus rolani can function as a painkiller. The researchers have learned that a particular substance from the poison can block out pain in mice for an even longer time than morphine.
"We have discovered a so-called toxin that blocks out pain in a completely different way than well-known drugs like morphine, and hopefully this will enable us to avoid some of the most damaging effects of morphine on humans," explains Associate Professor Helena Safavi, who has headed the study.
Today, medicine based on the sea snail Conus magus is already available in the market for treatment of e.g. back injuries and cancer. But it is both expensive and difficult to work with because it has to be injected into the central nervous system via e.g. a spinal implant.
So even though we already have a drug based on a sea snail which for some people involves fewer side effects than morphine and opioids, it is not ideal due to the price and the circumstances.
Therefore, the researchers behind the new study hope the discovery of the effect of poison from Conus rolani can help them develop a more efficient painkiller.
"We need a better alternative for people who are in great pain -- an alternative that is less addictive than e.g. morphine and opioids. In Denmark, opioids do not represent a huge problem, but in other parts of the world it is quite extensive," says Helena Safavi from the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen... (MORE - details)