Some animal venom can boost health

Not many people would willingly be stung by a bee or bitten by a snake. But in some cases, venom from animals, insects, and reptiles can help, not harm. And you wouldn’t think of ingesting urine from a pregnant mare, yet that’s the source of the estrogen in Premarin, used to treat severe symptoms of menopause.

Researchers are now exploring the potentially curative powers of many animal secretions. A compound based on scorpion venom, for example, may allow doctors to deliver drugs to brain tumors without harming neighboring tissue. An enzyme in snake venom holds promise as an adhesive in oral surgery. Snail toxin may ease nerve pain stemming from advanced diabetes. And fly larvae may one day help heal wounds caused by the superbug methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

What are some of the other “creature cures”?

Leeches
These bloodsuckers, long an icon of the medical dark ages, are making a comeback. Surgeons reattaching accidentally severed fingers now sometimes place leeches on the tip of the appendage to stimulate blood flow. Or they circle wounds with leeches to keep blood from pooling. Scientists harnessed the powerful anticoagulant properties of leech saliva to develop the blood-thinning drug lepirudin (Refludan). And some preliminary research suggests that leeches might help relieve knee pain stemming from osteoarthritis. But don’t try leech therapy on your own: The critters used in medical treatments are raised in carefully controlled laboratories, not harvested from lakes or swamps.

Gila-monster saliva
Exenatide (Byetta), a synthetic form of a hormone that occurs naturally in the reptile’s saliva, is an injectable drug for people with type 2 diabetes who can’t adequately control their blood sugar with other medications. Some evidence suggests that the drug may also help those people lose weight.

Bee venom
People who have severe allergic reactions to bee stings are now treated with tiny amounts of bee venom to desensitize them to the poison. That immunotherapy treatment provides almost complete protection from systemic reactions to bee stings.

Snake venom
Investigators are testing ancrod (Viprinex), an anticoagulant derived from the venom of the Malayan pit viper, to see if it can help restore blood flow to the brain when given within six hours after the onset of an ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke.

This article first appeared in the February 2008 issue of Consumer Reports on Health.