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Citation
style: ProQuest Standard |
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Document 1 of 1 |
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People: |
Soares,
Eladio, Mercadante, Otavio Azevedo |
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Section: |
Life |
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Publication
title: |
Daily
News. Halifax, N.S.: Oct 7, 2004. pg. 28 |
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Source
type: |
Newspaper |
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ISSN/ISBN: |
07154321 |
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ProQuest
document ID: |
711898041 |
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Text
Word Count |
329 |
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Document
URL: |
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=711898041&Fmt=3&clientId=17280&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
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Abstract (Document Summary) |
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"After
more than five years of hard work, our scientists isolated and chemically
synthesized the analgesic properties of the rattlesnake's poison, which will
allow us to make what could be one of the strongest painkillers ever
produced," says [Otavio Azevedo Mercadante], whose 1,000-employee
operation is part of the Sao Paulo State Health Department. The new
painkiller could one day replace morphine, which is widely used to alleviate
the pain of cancer patients and other chronic pain sufferers, Mercadante says.
He says the potential painkiller is 600 times stronger than morphine and that
tests done with rats indicate it is not addictive. |
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Full Text (329 words) |
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(Copyright THE DAILY NEWS (HALIFAX) 2004) The
rattlesnake, known only as No.0148, isn't too pleased when lab technician
Eladio Soares de Almeida forces its mouth open, plunges its two fangs into a
cellophane-covered jar and squeezes out its deadly poison. The rattler's
venom, like that of the more than 5,000 other poisonous reptiles at the
Butantan Institute, is used to produce antivenin that saves the lives of
people bitten by rattlesnakes, coral snakes and South American vipers known
as the "jararaca," "surucucu" and "urutu."
Antitoxins against spider and scorpion bites are also produced at the
institute. While the
production of antivenins has been the institute's hallmark since its founding
in 1901 by scientist Vital Brazil Mineiro da Campanha, it also is one of
Latin America's leading makers of vaccines, says Otavio Azevedo Mercadante,
the institute's director. In July,
scientists at the institute announced a possible new line of work: someday
producing pain killers based on the venom of rattlesnakes. The poison of
the rattlesnake may one day lead to a painkiller more powerful than morphine
- and perhaps without the addiction, the institute says, although it stresses
that years of development and testing lie ahead. "After
more than five years of hard work, our scientists isolated and chemically
synthesized the analgesic properties of the rattlesnake's poison, which will
allow us to make what could be one of the strongest painkillers ever
produced," says Mercadante, whose 1,000-employee operation is part of
the Sao Paulo State Health Department. The origins of
the approach date back nearly 100 years, when the institute's founder
observed the venom's analgesic properties while studying the effect of
diluted rattlesnake poison on humans. The new
painkiller could one day replace morphine, which is widely used to alleviate
the pain of cancer patients and other chronic pain sufferers, Mercadante
says. He says the potential painkiller is 600 times stronger than morphine
and that tests done with rats indicate it is not addictive.
Credit: AP |
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