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Spider venom may prevent atrial fibrillation
BMJ 2001; 322 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.322.7278.71/a (Published 13 January 2001) Cite this as: BMJ 2001;322:71
- Roger Dobson
- Abergavenny
Venom from a common South American tarantula spider may contain a protein that could prevent atrial fibrillation.
Research based on rabbits suggests that the peptide GsMtx-4 found in the poison of one of the 800 different types of tarantula may be useful in tackling the cause of rapid and chaotic electrical activity in the atria.
In the research, reported in Nature (2001;409:35-6), a team of US and German scientists investigated …
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