Neurotoxins in
L. quinquestriatus venom include: •
Chlorotoxin •
Charybdotoxin, a blocker of
calcium-activated potassium channels. •
Scyllatoxin •
Agitoxins types one, two and three Other components : •
Lq2, which gets its name from this scorpion.
Hazards The deathstalker is one of the most dangerous species of scorpion. Its
venom is a powerful mixture of
neurotoxins, with a low
lethal dose. While a sting from this scorpion is extraordinarily painful, it normally would not kill a healthy adult human. However, young children, the elderly, or infirm (such as those with a heart condition and those who are allergic) are at much greater risk. Any
envenomation runs the risk of
anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening
allergic reaction to the venom. A study from Israel shows a high rate of
pancreatitis following envenomation. If a sting from
Leiurus quinquestriatus does prove deadly, the cause of death is usually
pulmonary edema.
Antivenom for the treatment of deathstalker envenomations is produced by pharmaceutical companies
AbbVie and
Sanofi Pasteur, and by the National Antivenom and Vaccine Production Center in
Riyadh. Envenomation by the deathstalker is considered a
medical emergency even with antivenom treatment, as its venom is unusually resistant to treatment and typically requires large doses of antivenom. In the United States and other countries outside of the typical range of the deathstalker, there is the additional complicating factor that none of the existing antivenoms are approved by the
Food and Drug Administration (or equivalent agencies) and are only available as
investigational drugs (INDs). The US Armed Forces maintain an investigational drug application for the AVPC-Riyadh antivenom in the event of envenomation of soldiers in the Gulf War theater of operations, and the Florida Antivenin Bank, managed by the
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, maintains Sanofi Pasteur's Scorpifav antivenom for the deathstalker.
Uses , Israel A component of the deathstalker's venom, the
peptide chlorotoxin, has shown potential for treating human
brain tumors. There has also been some evidence to show that other components of the venom may aid in the regulation of
insulin and could be used to treat
diabetes. In 2015 clinical trials were beginning of the use of chlorotoxin with a fluorescent molecule attached as brain tumour "paint" (BLZ-100), to mark cancerous cells in real time during an operation. This is important in brain cancer surgery, where it is vital both to remove as many cancerous cells as possible, but not to remove healthy tissue necessary for brain functioning. In preclinical animal trials the technique could highlight extremely small clusters of as few as 200 cancer cells, compared to the standard use of
MRI, with a lower limit in excess of 500,000. ==Legality==