http://scorpion-files.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-impact-on-rhopalurus-junecus.html?m=1
The dark morph of Cubas blue scorpion, Rhopalurus junceus. Photo: Roland Teruel (C).
Last week I blogged about a newspaper article discussing the venom of the Cuban scorpion Rhopalurus junceus (Herbst, 1800) as a miracle drug for some serious cancer forms. After reading the article I thought about how the demand for this new drug has impacted on the populations of this (so far) common scorpion in Cuba. I asked Cuban scorpion expert Rolando Teruel about this and here is his answer:
"Starting about a decade ago, a government research program on the medical potential of the venom of R. junceus has spread all over Cuba. In order to obtain the amounts of venom needed, intensive captures of thousands of individuals are made all across the entire distribution area of the scorpion. But further, in several localities the native people collect indiscriminately as many scorpions as they can for personal use or illegal sale in the black market. The sum of both factors has impacted negatively on the abundance of this species and has depleted its populations drastically in many places of Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo provinces, becoming a death threat to their survival (Cao, 2002; R. Teruel & L. F. de Armas, unpublished data)".
This is a quote from Teruel & Armas (2012), translated from Spanish by Rolando Teruel. As you can see, the large demand for Rhopalurusvenom is now a threat to the species on Cuba.Hopefully, there will be measures controlling the exploitation of wild caught Rhopalurus on Cuba.
Reference:
Teruel R, de Armas LF. Redescripcion de Rhopalurus junceus (Herbst 1800) (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Boletin de la SEA. 2012 (50):153-74.
Thanks to Dr. Rolando Teruel for sharing his insight with The Scorpion Files!
Published: Tuesday 27 February 2018Written by: Honor Whiteman
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The Indian red scorpion is one of the most dangerous scorpions in the world. Without treatment, a sting from this creature can kill a human in just 72 hours. But it's not all bad; a compound found in its venom could help to treat one of the most common and debilitating health conditions in the United States.
In a new study, researchers have revealed how iberiotoxin — one of several compounds in the deadly venom of the Indian red scorpion — stopped the progression of rheumatoid arthritis in rat models of the disease.
Study leader Dr. Christine Beeton, of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, and her colleagues recently reported their findings in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
In rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system launches an attack on the joints — particularly those of the hands, wrists, and knees — causing pain and inflammation.
It is estimated that around 1.5 million people in the U.S. are living with rheumatoid arthritis, and the disease is around three times as common among women than men.
As Dr. Beeton notes, a specialized type of cell in the joints called fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) play an important role in rheumatoid arthritis.
"As they grow and move from joint to joint," Dr. Beeton explains, "they secrete products that damage the joints and attract immune cells that cause inflammation and pain. As damage progresses, the joints become enlarged and are unable to move."
In a previous study of people with rheumatoid arthritis, Dr. Beeton and colleagues discovered a potassiumchannel on the membrane of FLS cells — called KCa1.1 — that is involved in the development of the disease.
The researchers speculated that blocking this potassium channel may be one way to halt the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. In their latest study, they found that the scorpion venom compound iberiotoxin could do just that.
Iberiotoxin halted rheumatoid arthritis
Iberiotoxin is found in the venom of the Indian red scorpion, or the Buthus tamulus. According to first study author Dr. Mark Tanner — who is also of the Baylor College of Medicine — iberiotoxin specifically targets the KCa1.1 channel on FLS, while avoiding other potassium channels.
For their new study, the researchers tested iberiotoxin on rat models of rheumatoid arthritis.
They discovered that the scorpion venom compound not only stopped rheumatoid arthritis progression in the rodents by blocking KCa1.1, but some rodents showed improvements in inflammation and joint mobility.
Importantly, iberiotoxin did not lead to any adverse side effects in the rats, while another potassium channel blocker called paxilline caused tremors and urinary incontinence.
"It was very exciting to see," explains Dr. Tanner, "that iberiotoxin is very specific for the potassium channel in FLS and that it did not seem to affect the channels in other types of cells, which might explain the lack of tremors and incontinence."
Based on these findings, Dr. Beeton and colleagues believe that iberiotoxin could open the door to an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, though further studies are needed.
"Although these results are promising, much more research needs to be conducted before we can use scorpion venom components to treat rheumatoid arthritis. We think that this venom component, iberiotoxin, can become the basis for developing a new treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in the future."
Dr. Christine Beeton
That's the chlorotoxin in Deathstalker venom.
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2004/01/harvard-gazette-scorpion-venom-blocks-bone-loss/May help those with periodontal disease and arthritis
William J. CromieHarvard News Office
January 8, 2004
‘Scorpion lady’ Paloma Valverde reflects on the possibilities of using the animal’s venom to treat a variety of diseases that affect jaws and joints. (Staff photo Rose Lincoln/Harvard News Office)
Paloma Valverde knows scorpion venom. A biochemist, she has worked with it for years, and marveled at how it can both kill prey and fight a number of diseases in both animals and humans.
Three years ago, Valverde received a fellowship from The Forsyth Institute, an independent research facility associated with the Harvard School of Dental Medicine in Boston. She was aware that other scientists had been investigating scorpion poison for treating a variety of ills including organ transplant rejection, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and even cancer. A research center like Forsyth, she thought, would be an ideal place to see if something from a scorpion’s toxic sting could halt loss of teeth and the bones that keep them in place.
In the United States, such periodontal disease affects one out of every four people older than 30 years. In the rest of world, there are probably millions more suffering from jawbone loss and the teeth problems that go with it. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if scorpion venom could help these people, thought Valverde. She took her idea to Martin Taubman, a Harvard professor of oral and developmental biology who chairs the Department of Immunology at the Forsyth.
“He was excited about the idea,” Valverde recalls, “but cautious.” The experiments would be costly in time and money, and there was no good evidence that the scheme would work. Taubman played devil’s advocate and grilled Valverde about possible negative results of the work.
Finally convinced, he gave “the scorpion lady” a go-ahead.
VENOM VINDICATED
Researchers don’t actually squeeze the venom out of scorpions’ tails. It’s made synthetically, and you can buy it in a jar. Toshihisa Kawai joined Valverde and Taubman, and they assembled two groups of rats with induced periodontal bone loss. Those in one group got injections of kalitoxin, an ingredient of scorpion venom, while those in the other group did not.
Valverde was very nervous at this point. “It was the first time the toxin had been used in this way,” she notes. “I was worried that it would cause disastrous side effects, like fatal heart or kidney problems.”
“Are the rats dead?” she anxiously asked Kawai. His “no” relieved her of becoming the butt of many scorpion-lady jokes rather than a serious researcher with a sound idea.
After 10 days, Valverde was vindicated. Animals given kalitoxin, the venom component, enjoyed 84 percent less jawbone loss than those that didn’t get the injections.
“We are very excited because this is the first demonstration that this type of compound may be useful in treating periodontal disease,” says Taubman. “We hope that our findings will lead to success in alleviating the bone-ravaging effects of many other diseases.”
Good candidates include rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
According to Valverde, kalitoxin blocks Kv1.3, a protein that plays a major role in inflammation. When Kv1.3 is blocked, it decreases the activity of another protein that plays a key role in stimulating bone-eating cells known as osteoclasts.
“This is the first study we know of to show that such a blocker can decrease alveolar (jaw) bone loss,” Valverde notes. “Furthermore, we observed no toxic side effects. Therefore, we now have a novel and apparently safe strategy to ameliorate bone destruction associated with periodontal disease. We expect that kaliotoxin and other Kv1.3 blockers can also be used to prevent bone destruction in other disorders such as osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis.”
Before experiments with humans begin, however, there will need to be toxicology tests. The rats came out fine, but the venom ingredient must be tested for safety in people. Neither Taubman nor Valverde are planning such experiments yet due to lack of funds. But experiments are going on at other places. In Cuba, for example, the diluted venom of the blue scorpion has been used to treat various cancers. Other researchers are interested in the venom for treatment of inflammatory diseases in which the body’s immune system goes awry and attacks itself the way bone-eating cells destroy jawbone. Such maladies include multiple sclerosis, lupus, and some 60 other disorders.
In the meantime, people are listening when Valverde tells them about the possibilities of a scorpion sting.
Reuters
Friday, December 14, 2018 - 4:45pm
Farmer Pepe Casanas poses with a scorpion in Los Palacios, Cuba, Dec. 5, 2018.
Credit:
Stringer/Reuters
Once a month for the last decade, Pepe Casanas, a 78-year-old Cuban farmer, has hunted down a scorpion to sting himself with, vowing that the venom wards off his rheumatism pains.
His natural remedy is no longer seen as very unusual here.
Researchers in Cuba have found that the venom of the blue scorpion, whose scientific name is Rhopalurus junceus, endemic to the Caribbean island, appears to have anti-inflammatory and pain relief properties, and may be able to delay tumor growth in some cancer patients.
While some oncologists abroad say more research is needed to be able to properly back up such a claim, Cuban pharmaceutical firm Labiofam has been using scorpion venom since 2011 to manufacture the homeopathic medicine Vidatox.
The remedy has proven popular.
Related: Could migraine suffers finally have a new form of effective relief?
Labiofam Business Director Carlos Alberto Delgado told Reuters sales were climbing 10 percent annually. Vidatox already sells in around 15 countries worldwide and is currently in talks with China to sell the remedy there.
In Cuba, where tens of thousands of patients have been treated with Vidatox, each vial costs under a dollar. On the black market abroad it can cost hundred times that — retailers on Amazon are seen selling them for up to $140.
"I put the scorpion where I feel pain," Casanas said while demonstrating his homemade pain relief with a scorpion that he found under a pile of debris on the patch of land he cultivates in Cuba's western province of Pinar del Rio.
After squeezing it long enough, it stung him and he winced.
"It hurts for a while, but then it calms and goes and I don't have any more pain," he said.
Casanas, a leathery-skinned former tobacco farmer who now primarily grows beans for his own consumption, said he sometimes keeps a scorpion under his straw hat like a lucky charm.
It likes the shade and humidity, he says, so just curls up and sleeps.
Farmer Pepe Casanas places the scorpion on his body where he feels the most pain. The sting hurts, but the relief from rheumatism is worth it. Casanas lives in Los Palacios, Cuba, Dec. 5, 2018.
Credit:
Stringer/Reuters
From farm to lab
In a Labiofam laboratory in the southern Cuban city of Cienfuegos, workers dressed in scrubs and hairnets tend to nearly 6,000 scorpions housed in plastic containers lined up on rows of metal racks.
Every few days they feed and water the arachnids that sit on a bed of small stones. Once a month, they apply an 18-volt electrical jolt to their tails using a handcrafted machine in order to trigger the release of a few drops of venom.
The venom is then diluted with distilled water and shaken vigorously, which homeopathic practitioners believe activates its "vital energy."
The scorpions are caught in the wild as Labiofam workers believe their venom — which is not dangerous — is not as potent when raised in captivity.
A worker extracts venom from a scorpion to produce homeopathic medicine Vidatox at LABIOFAM, the Cuban state manufacturer of medicinal and personal hygienic products, in Cienfuegos, Cuba, Dec. 3, 2018.
Credit:
Stringer/Reuters
After two years of exploitation in the "escorpionario," they are released back into the wild.
Dr. Fabio Linares, the head of Labiofam's homeopathic medicine laboratory who developed the medicine, said Vidatox stimulates the body's natural defense mechanisms.
"After four to five years [of taking it], the doctor whose care I was in told me that my cancer hadn't advanced," said Cuban patient Jose Manuel Alvarez Acosta, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008.
Related: Dying Amazon healers are taking potential cures for cancer, AIDS and other diseases with them
Still, Labiofam recommends Vidatox as a supplemental treatment and says it should not replace conventional ones.
