Rattlesnake venom substance may help skin cancer treatmentNovember 2, 2012 - 21:15 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A substance extracted from rattlesnake venom could raise survival hopes among patients with skin cancer, according to experiments performed by Brazilian researchers, Fox News reported. Chromatin, a protein isolated from the venom of the South American snake, increased the survival rate of rats with skin cancer by up to 70 percent, the Butantan Institute said. The protein also helped to significantly retard the development of tumors and even to completely inhibit their formation, according to Butantan, an institute linked to the health department of Sao Paulo state. The researchers heading the unprecedented study discovered that the protein is able to kill cells but its toxic action is exclusively limited to melanoma cells, meaning that it does not affect an organism's other cells. The substance also remains inside a cancerous tumor for only about 24 hours. Researchers admit that they still need to perform other tests on animals and, ultimately, humans before they can think about the possibility of developing a new drug. The priority, however, before experimenting with it on humans, is to be able to synthesize the protein, that is to produce it in the laboratory without having to extract and process actual snake venom. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |