Conus regius, a predatory and venomous sea snail that has the capacity to paralyzed its prey. But, according to the results of the study that were published in February 20 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the venom contains a compound that can be performed as a long-lasting pain relief.

According to BBC News, the findings implies that it might be possible to make a new pain treatment for patients who had run out of alternatives. Most of the prescriptions for moderate to serious pain is called opioids, which work to lessen the concept of pain.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that opioids are exceptionally addictive and 91 Americans pass away consistently from an opioid overdose. These medications are addictive because the compounds over-stimulate the brain's reward system with dopamine, which prompts to synthetic dependence.

In the study, Phys Org reported that the analyst found out that a compound from the snail's venom, Rg1A, performs on a pain pathway in particular from that targeted by opioid drugs. By using rat models, the researcher demonstrated that α9α10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) that work as a pain pathway receptor and that RgIA4 is an effective compound to block this receptor.

The compound works its way through the body in four hours, yet the researcher has found the advantage of its impact. The team said that the compound was still working 72 hours after the infusion and still preventing the pain.

The duration of the result may recommend that the snail compound has restorative effects in a few components of the nervous system. The researchers will proceed to the following pre-clinical testing to explore more about the safety and effectiveness of the new drug treatment.

Most of the pain medicines that is available today work through a limited number of pathways and are not adequate to lessen the chronic pain. McIntosh said, that RgIA4 works by an entirely new pathway, which opens the door for the new chance to treat the pain.