A zinc compound sometimes taken to treat the common cold might have another use as emergency treatment for anyone who gets stung by an Australian box jellyfish, a new study finds. Researchers also find that venom from stings seems to poke holes in red blood cells, triggering the release of potassium that stops the heart when tested in mice. These box jellyfish deliver some of the move potent venom found in nature. In tests in mice, animals given a dose of the venom had aberrant heartbeats within 90 seconds, and their hearts showed steadily deteriorating ability to contract afterward. That is consistent with potassium poisoning. But when the scientists treated eight mice with zinc gluconate after exposure to the venom, four survived more than 12 hours. Untreated mice exposed to the venom died within an average of 19 minutes. Mice receiving a standard box jellyfish antivenom died as fast as those getting no medication. The zinc compound blocks assembly of the pores, stanching potassium discharge, tests in red blood cells show. I think this is a cool and useful treatment to use if you ever get stung by a jellyfish. Who knew zinc had several careers?
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/347013/description/Zinc_may_help_treat_box_jellyfish_stings
This is really cool! I always find it interesting when new uses are found for older products. Knowing that the mice that were given the anti-venom did not survive actually scares me. What if a human was stung by one of the box jellyfish? would they not have a high chance of survival? Also, if scientists know what the venom does to the red blood cells, could they not work on a more reliable cure for the stings? They know what the poison does, so why can't they figure out what will stop that completely?
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