Scorpion Venom May Help Doctors Identify Brain Tumors

According to a report from the MIT Technology Review, a substance derived from a toxin present in scorpion venom can be used by neurosurgeons during complicated operations to remove brain tumors.

According to the publication, one of the major challenges these surgeons face when trying to remove a brain tumor is the great difficulty of differentiating healthy tissue from diseased tissue. Therefore, during surgeries - which occur to a certain extent blindly - one of the concerns is not to injure any healthy area, since a millimeter cut beyond the bill can mean permanent damage to patients, beyond those already caused by the tumor.

Painting tumors

So a group of doctors at Seattle Children's Hospital discovered a study that described how a toxin in scorpion venom - for some strange reason - could bind to brain tumor cells without affecting healthy cells. The researchers then created a synthetic version of this substance, adding to it a compound that shines in the near-infrared light, "painting" the tumor.

But apart from highlighting only diseased cells, the synthetic toxin is also capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, a cellular and molecular fortification present in blood vessels that prevents chemicals from entering the brain.

Doctors have successfully performed the first tests, injecting the synthetic toxin into mice, noting that after a period of only 15 to 20 minutes, the tumor began to glow, standing out among the healthy brain tissues of the animals. Researchers hope to begin testing with humans by the end of 2013 and, if all goes well, the new substance could potentially save many lives and reduce the number of errors and sequelae.