Small molecule therapeutics (SMTs) polymer nanoparticles (NP) and have been proposed as potential prereferral treatments for snakebite
December 22nd, 2018Bulfone TC, Samuel SP, Bickler PE, Lewin MR.
Developing Small Molecule Therapeutics for the Initial and Adjunctive Treatment of Snakebite.
J Trop Med. 2018;2018:4320175. Published 2018 Jul 30. doi:10.1155/2018/4320175
- Snakebite envenomation is a neglected tropical disease that causes more than 100,000 deaths every year
- SMTs represent a potentially useful adjunctive therapy to antivenoms, the current mainstay of care for symptomatic snakebite.
Engineered nanoparticles bind elapid snake venom toxins and inhibit venom-induced dermonecrosis
- Jeffrey O’Brien,
- Shih-Hui Lee,
- José María Gutiérrez,
- Kenneth J. Shea
- Published: October 4, 2018
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006736
“…..The work describes hope for treatment of snakebite, a broad-spectrum antivenom comprised polymer nanoparticles (NPs) engineered to sequester the major protein toxins in elapid snakes. The stable, low-cost NPs can be administered subcutaneously immediately after the bite at the site of envenoming to halt or reduce the extent of local tissue damage and mitigate the systemic distribution of toxins post-envenoming…..”