chronic pain treatment Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Velvet Ant Venom May Yield Answers for Pain-Related Medical Research

The AHA! Team — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 06:26:40 +0000

Indiana University via Newswise – The Scarlet Velvet Ant, which is actually a type of wasp, has a venomous sting that is described as explosive and akin to “hot oil from the deep fryer spilling over your entire hand.” The study authors focused on how the venom interacts with nerve cells responsible for sensing pain. A new study by researchers at Indiana University Bloomington investigates why velvet ant stings are among the most excruciating in the animal kingdom, and offers a fascinating glimpse into the evolutionary arms race between predators and prey—while providing insights that may inform pain-related medical research. The Scarlet Velvet Ant, which is actually a type of wasp, has a venomous sting that is described as explosive and akin to “hot oil from the deep fryer spilling over your entire hand.” But while the sting is incredibly painful, it’s not particularly toxic, which suggests that its primary function is to act as a deterrent rather than to kill. The insect’s sting, along with its striking red-and-black coloration, serves as a warning to predators and an enduring reminder of its formidable defense mechanisms. The study, recently published in Current Biology, was authored by Lydia Borjon, Assistant Scientist in in the Tracey Lab at the Gill Institute for Neuroscience at IU, Luana Assis Ferreira, postdoctoral researcher in the Hohmann Lab at the Gill Institute, Jonathan Trinidad, Senior Scientist in the College of Arts and Science’s Department of Chemistry, Andrea Hohmann, Professor in the College’s Psychological and Brain Sciences department and Linda and Jack Gill Chair of Neuroscience, Sunčica Šašić (Human Biology B.S. ’24), and Dan Tracey, Professor in the College’s Biology department and Linda and Jack Gill Chair of Neuroscience. Velvet ants, including the Scarlet Velvet Ant, are commonly found in the southern and eastern United States. They thrive in dry, sandy environments, and are often seen scurrying on the ground in search of nectar or other insects to parasitize. To understand how their venom works, the IU scientists turned to common fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, a common model organism for studying biological processes. (IU Bloomington is the home of three resource centers utilized by fruit fly researchers worldwide.) The study authors focused on how the venom interacts with nerve cells responsible for sensing pain. These cells, called nociceptors, respond to potentially harmful stimuli like extreme heat or sharp pressure. In fruit fly larvae, a specific group of these pain-sensing neurons was found to react strongly to velvet ant venom, even at extremely diluted concentrations. The team identified a key venom ingredient—a peptide called Do6a—that activates these nociceptors. Peptides are short chains of amino acids, and this particular one, Do6a, triggers pain-sensing ion channels in insects. (Ion channels are specialized proteins embedded in the membranes of cells that allow ions—charged particles—to pass in and out of the cell.) This ion movement is crucial for various physiological processes, including nerve impulse transmission, muscle contraction, and maintaining the cell’s resting potential. Notably, the targeted ion channels known as Pickpocket/Balboa (Ppk/Bba) in fruit flies bear a striking resemblance to Acid-Sensing Ion Channels (ASICs) found in vertebrates, including mammals and humans, highlighting a fascinating evolutionary link in how different organisms process pain stimuli. The Evolutionary Edge “Our study findings suggest that velvet ants target the pain-sensing systems of evolutionarily distant animals, including vertebrates, like mammals and birds, and invertebrates, like other insects, but it does so through different mechanisms” said Lydia Borjon. “We expected the simplest solution, that the venom would act through related receptors in both insects and mice, but we were surprised to find that this was not the case.” In fruit flies, the Do6a peptide is highly specialized and potent, while in mammals, other components of the venom—less potent and more generalized peptides—trigger the pain response. “Not only is Do6a a very strong activator of insect pain-sensing neurons, it is also the most abundant peptide in the venom. This implies that the defense against other insects was an important factor in the evolution of the venom contents,” Borjon added. This led the researchers to test the venom’s effectiveness against another insect species. They observed how praying mantises responded to being stung. The mantises displayed clear avoidance behaviors, underscoring the venom’s role as a powerful deterrent in the insect world. “This research underscores the incredible precision of evolutionary adaptations,” said Tracey. “Velvet ants have refined their venom to exploit specific molecular targets in a way that maximizes their survival advantage. It is remarkable that the venom evolved to target the nociception systems of vertebrates and invertebrates with such precision.” Species-specific adaptations and implications for pain research The researchers used advanced imaging techniques to observe how nerve cells in fruit fly larvae reacted to venom. They also conducted genetic experiments to confirm the role of Ppk/Bba ion channels. When these channels were removed or deactivated, the nerve cells stopped responding to the venom, proving that the channels are essential for the venom’s effects. When it came to vertebrates, the researchers tested the venom on mice. They found that certain peptides in the venom caused the mice to exhibit pain-related behaviors, such as licking, flinching or shaking the injected paw. However, the Do6a peptide, which was so potent in insects, had no noticeable effect on the mice, highlighting the venom’s species-specific adaptations. ”Exploring how velvet ant venom affects different species provides valuable insights into pain pathways, with potential implications for advancing medical research” said Luana de Assis Ferreira. “For instance, the study highlights how specific ion channels are involved in triggering pain. Such knowledge might one day help scientists develop new painkillers or treatments for chronic pain by targeting similar pathways in humans.” While velvet ant’s venom is a marvel of evolutionary engineering, the broader implications are equally compelling. “This study provides a framework for exploring how other animal venoms work, especially those that target pain pathways. Venoms are a treasure trove of bioactive compounds, and studying them often leads to breakthroughs in pharmacology and medicine”, said Andrea Hohmann. “This research offers a deeper appreciation of nature’s complexity and the power of natural selection, in that the velvet ant’s sting is a carefully honed defense mechanism that ensures its survival in a dangerous world filled with potential predators, said Tracey. “And with these findings, we’re one step closer to understanding, and maybe even harnessing, its power.” To read the original article click here.

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A Wearable Device That Soothes and Heals at Home

AHA Publisher — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 07:00:26 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – A mild pins-and-needles sensation encircled my forearm as the Healables sleeve was activated from Moshe Lebowitz’s smartphone. The intensity can be dialed up or down with the flick of a finger. I was in the Jerusalem office of Healables, a startup developing home-based “electroceutical” treatment of pain and inflammation. The device delivers microcurrent electrotherapy to legs or arms, through a port snapped onto an e-textile sleeve with built-in electrodes. The flexible, machine-washable sleeve is made in an Israeli factory that manufactures big-brand American sports apparel. “We tried to make our solution as easy as taking a pill but without any side effects or potential for addiction,” says Lebowitz, the company’s CEO. “By docking with textiles, the treatment is simply like getting dressed.” Wellness and Medical Models Healables is building two products on its technology platform: ElectroGear, a sports-and-wellness model for athletes, to be sold directly and through physical therapists and sports teams; and a medical model to be available by prescription, pending regulatory approval. A clinical trial of the medical model soon will begin on patients with knee osteoarthritis, led by Dr. Hadar Oz, chief of sports medicine at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon. “For these patients we have many kinds of treatments and one of them may be the Healables device,” Oz tells ISRAEL21c. “There is a similar treatment available, but it needs a very large machine. What they did is make it very small and incorporate it into a flexible knee brace. We hope this device will work to lessen the pain and thus allow them better active daily living.” Another trial will start at Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem on patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, a common and painful leg, foot or hand complication of diabetes. As for the sports-and-wellness model, Stade Français Paris Rugby Club selected ElectroGear for a pilot through the HYPE Global Sports Accelerator. Healables is recruiting professional sports teams for additional pilots in the US, EU and UK. Healables also participated in the Hadassah-IBM Alpha Zone Accelerator, MedTech Ra’anana and BizLabs MedTech Accelerator for ultra-Orthodox (haredi) entrepreneurs like Lebowitz. Entrepreneur and Rabbi The bearded 47-year-old CEO wears traditional garb: white shirt, black pants, black frock coat and black hat. He has rabbinic ordination from a yeshiva in Israel, where he’s lived since 1997. But he was raised in Baltimore and has a BA in mass communications and user interface/user experience from Towson University. Long interested in technology, in 2002 Lebowitz launched a website builder like Wix. But the technology wasn’t mature enough yet. “I learned that timing is really important in startups,” he says. Soon after ending that venture in 2007, Lebowitz suffered a traumatic brain injury. During his long recovery, he tried a range of complementary treatments, including Chinese medicine, that helped him heal. Locating practitioners and traveling to and from sessions was tiring and time-consuming. He pondered how to bring effective treatment modalities into the home through user-friendly connected wearable devices. The wearables he saw on the market were mostly tracking health parameters rather than treating conditions. Lebowitz wanted a wearable that could treat the body with electrotherapy and–using data collected from those sessions — treat the mind with personalized behavioral health coaching. “As a rabbi, I know there’s a body and a soul, and to treat the whole person you have to look at both,” says Lebowitz. “Even on a biological level, the effect of mental health on immunology is something people have really noticed recently with corona.” In late 2017, Lebowitz founded Healables to realize his vision. He received his first investment in early 2019, a grant from the Israel Innovation Authority. Healables has raised a total of $2.5 million from the IIA and BioJerusalemand is seeking funding from sports-tech and biotech investors. “We will be collaborating with Leonhardt Ventures as well,” he says. Lebowitz finds his yeshiva background advantageous. “Talmud study is about connecting with God, but as a side effect it improves your mental capacity and ability to think creatively. People really respect that.” After all, he notes, “Startups become unicorns by solving problems differently.” Unique in Electrotherapy Physical therapists already are familiar with electrotherapy machines to ease pain and accelerate healing. Some examples are millicurrent devices like TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), microcurrent devices like MENS (microcurrent electrical nerve stimulation) and electro-acupuncture devices. While TENS effectively prevents pain signals from reaching the brain, it doesn’t address the source of pain. Microcurrent, 1,000 times less than millicurrent, actually aids healing. Studies show microcurrent increases the body’s production of ATP, a compound that fuels many cell processes. It stimulates metabolic activity, improves cellular function, and recruits immune-system cells, growth factors and other proteins that foster wound healing. Microcurrent also decreases systemic inflammation, the underlying cause of many chronic conditions. However, three drawbacks have hampered the wide adoption of this electrotherapy, says Lebowitz. “One, it’s too complicated for many home users and even professionals to feel comfortable with selecting the right settings and it often takes multiple appointments to figure out the appropriate treatment for each patient. “Two, it’s too restrictive because the patient usually needs to be confined to a treatment table for an hour with sticky electrodes and wires that pop off if you move the wrong way. “And three, it’s too time consuming because the patient needs to travel to a clinic multiple times a week.” Healables was designed to overcome all three drawbacks, integrating smart textiles, electronics and software to reduce inflammation, accelerate healing and relieve pain, while eliminating travel time. The same device with different settings can treat different conditions. “Some conditions require half an hour a day, some two hours a day, but you can be doing other things during the treatment. You just press a button on your smartphone and it goes. For an athlete, you can be treating your leg while working out your arms in the gym.” The Healables system is HIPAA-compliant and includes artificial intelligence for personalizing and improving treatment based on response data. Later, this will also be used to power the behavioral health coaching component. A Family Affair The company’s chief scientific officer, retired US Army Col. George Lowell, was director of laboratories at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, former CSO of BioDefense at GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, and present board member of BiondVax Pharmaceuticals. Lowell is also Lebowitz’s father. He had Anglicized the family name, and Moshe changed it back to the original after relocating to Israel. Most of the startup’s crew of 14 are Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox, including Chief Medical Officer Andrew David Shiller, a physician specializing in treating acute and chronic illness and pain. Before moving to Israel in 2015, Shiller saw “some astonishing results” when he started using microcurrent technology in his practice. He tells ISRAEL21c that before earning his MD at Duke University and doing residencies at Harvard-affiliated hospitals, he studied mechanical engineering at MIT. “I was always interested in putting engineering together with what I learned about complementary healing, but I never got around to it until I joined this company,” he says. Inflammation is the fundamental process that drives most chronic illness such as diabetes, autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease and degenerative brain disease, Shiller explains. “It’s not about red-hot swelling but about low-grade protein shifts in the blood that don’t always show up in clinical tests. People treated with microcurrent are getting better with their pain but also decreasing pro-inflammatory proteins like the cytokines IL-6 and IL-1. This is a stunning potential gamechanger.” Clinical Results Shiller told me about results of user testing the sports wearable on several people. One was a 50-year-old woman with disfiguring osteoarthritis. One ankle was giving her excruciating pain even after surgery and physical therapy. “We tried the device once and she stopped using crutches. After three sessions she has almost no ankle pain,” Shiller says. Another tester was a soldier from a special forces unit, sidelined because of knee pain. “He has bone marrow edema associated with chronic trauma, and he was using oxycodone and Celebrex just to sleep at night,” says Shiller. After one session, he was able to stop taking drugs. “He’d find the pain creep back after a week, so we gave him a device and sleeve to test at home, programmed for him. He’s using it several times a week. I hope at some point he’ll have no pain,” says Shiller. “Whether they are completely better or not, there is significant improvement and it’s very gratifying to see that with our device.” Shiller adds that the Healables protocols will be refined with the help of collected data and outcomes of clinical trials. “Our initial studies are studying two conditions but there’s a whole potential world of treating chronic inflammatory problems with wearable microcurrent electrotherapy, which is kind of thrilling,” he says. For more information, click here To read the original article click here.

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