Scientists who analysed countless chemicals in spider venom say they have identified seven compounds that block a key step in the body's ability to pass pain signals to the brain.
In research they said could one day lead to a new class of potent painkillers, the scientists focused on 206 species of spider and searched for molecules in the venom that block nerve activity, particular via so-called "Nav1.7 channels".
Experts estimate that as many as one in five people worldwide suffer from chronic pain and existing pain treatments often fail to give sufficient or long-term relief. Pain's economic burden is also huge, with chronic pain estimated to cost $600 billion a year in the United States alone.
"A compound that blocks Nav1.7 channels is of particular interest," said Glenn King, who led the study at Australia's University of Queensland.
He said previous research has found indifference to pain among people who lack Nav1.7 channels due to a naturally-occurring genetic mutation, so blocking these channels has the potential to turn off pain in people with normal pathways.
"A conservative estimate indicates that there are nine million spider-venom peptides, and only 0.01 percent of this vast pharmacological landscape has been explored so far," said Julie Kaae Klint, who worked with King on the study.
Of the seven promising compounds they identified, they said one was particularly potent and also had a chemical structure that suggested it would have the kind of chemical, thermal and biological stability needed for making a drug.
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