Rattlesnake Research Articles

Snake Venom : A Bioactive Cocktail and its Therapautic use

From ancient time whenever we face any problem, we came to nature for the solution. Our nature is self renewable, she has solution for every problem, but we have to find the right path to respond more quickly. This review is regarding chemical nature of snake venom and about different life saving drugs extracted from snake venom. Venoms were originated from non poisonous proteins, and with subsequent generations under evolution these proteins become mutated and modified multiple times to develop deadly poison. With every modification venom becomes enriched with new diverse group of compounds. Main constituents of venom is hydrolyses, PLA2, phosphodiesterases, serine proteases and metalloproteases. Snakes use their venom to paralyzed their prey and to digest food, but these components can be used to treat various life threatening disease. Cobra, krait and rattle snakes are most poisionous snakes and their venom contains different enzymes, are classified as neurotoxic, haemotoxic and cytotoxic in nature and these have different impact upon exposure to animal. Neurotoxic venom destroy nervous system, haemotoxic venom leads to the destruction of red blood cells and also interfere with blood clotting factors, whereas cytotoxic venom can cause necrosis and apoptosis. With the discovary of modern techniques, isolation of different proteins and peptides and analysis of their nature are become easier. Most widely used drugs extracted from snake venom are Tirofiban, Eptifibatide, Captopril, enalapril, cobratide and batroxobin ete. The source of tirofiban, captopril, enalapril batroxobin is the venom of different viper species. On the other hand, eptifibatide is extracted from rattle snake and cobratide is from Chinese cobra .

Mapping possible interaction sites for crotoxin in CNF, a gamma PLA2 inhibitor from Crotalus durissus terrificus rattle snake, using SPOT synthesis

Phospholipases A2 (PLA2s) are main components of snake venoms. Several snake species possess endogenous PLA2 inhibitors in their circulating blood, which are generally known as sbPLIs (an acronym for snake blood phospholipase A2inhibitors). The sbPLIs are categorized in three classes (alpha, beta or gamma) depending on the existence of distinguishing protein domains in their structure. The Crotalus durrissus terrificus venom has a highly neurotoxic PLA2 - crotoxin (CTX) - in its composition and the self-protection of the snake is mainly ensured by a sbγPLI named CNF (standing for Crotalusneutralizing factor). In an attempt to find smaller molecules able to inhibit the catalytic activity of CTX, in the present study we used linear peptide arrays to identify CNF segments possibly involved in the interaction with the toxin. Five reacting segments were identified as possible interacting regions. The target peptides were synthesized and located in the in silico CNF structure. Although all of them are exposed to the solvent, high concentrations were needed to inhibit the PLA2 activity of the whole venom or CTX. Limitations of the methodology employed and particular characteristics of CTX inhibition by CNF are discussed.

Care Flight: A Pioneer in the West Celebrates 40 Proud Years of Responding “When It Matters Most”

Northern Nevada and northeastern California offer some of the world's most breathtaking scenery including the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which is home to Lake Tahoe (the largest Alpine Lake in North America), a dozen ski resorts, and mountains rising more than 14,000 feet covered by dense, inaccessible wilderness forests including Desolation Wilderness and the Pacific Crest Trail. This natural playground offers activities for every season, including snowmobiling, skiing, scuba diving, hiking, biking, rock climbing, and camping. It is home to more than 500,000 residents and attracts over 4 million visitors a year. The vast and remote open desert of Nevada with rolling foothills and rugged terrain is home to wild mustangs, rattle snakes, mule deer, eagles, hawks, and big horn sheep. Rural Nevada is dotted with frontier communities that have limited-capability hospitals and clinics. These towns, along with the region's urban communities are well served by Care Flight, the 35th helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) in the country and the first in the western United States when it began 40 years ago. The pioneering spirit and skilled medical and aviation crews, coupled with a helicopter and aviation technology that allowed them to land almost anywhere, day or night, made Care Flight an invaluable part of critical care transport services throughout the western United States and continues to this day. Temple Fletcher, CCEMTP, CMTE, SMTA, EMS Instructor, Sierra Nevada Critical Incident Stress Management Network and a peer support coordinator. Temple retired from Care Flight after over 30 years of service in management and on the flight line. She is proud to have been raised in an air medical family with high moral values of customer service, patient advocacy, and safety that the original founders instilled in the program and its staff. She would like to acknowledge the following Care Flight alumni for their support and encouragement: Jane Miller, Maggie Tole, Pam Altringer, Sandy Hutton, and Mark Mennie (photographer).

Chilly rattlesnakes strike slower, but not as slow as expected

You know that feeling when it's simply too hot to move; the heat is so oppressive that all you can do is sit indoors with a cool drink? Surprisingly, rattle snakes also struggle with heat in the summer, only they can't resort to the cool drink. ‘The habitats of many rattlesnake species become too hot during the day’, says Malachi Whitford from San Diego State University and the University of California, Davis, USA, so the reptiles’ solution for the problem is to become nocturnal and hunt at night, but that results in an alternative drawback. ‘Night time temperatures can get quite cold’, says Whitford, explaining that lower body temperatures could slow the snakes’ lightning fast reactions. Which made Grace Freymiller, Timothy Higham, Rulon Clark and Whitford wonder how much of an effect chilly conditions might have on the snakes’ abilities to catch dinner.‘Safety for the snake and for us is very important…we never put ourselves within the strike range of the snake’, says Whitford, describing how he and his colleagues corralled the vipers with snake hooks and tongs when collecting Mohave rattlesnakes (Crotalus scutulatus) in New Mexico and western rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus helleri) in southern California. Back at San Diego State University, Whitford waved an inflated balloon in front of the animals in an attempt to get them to land a bite. ‘We wanted something that would not injure their fangs, which are fairly delicate’, he says, adding that the snakes seem unperturbed when the balloon exploded. ‘Snakes do not have the best hearing…so the pop of the balloon did not startle them – although it made me jump on more than a few occasions’, he laughs. Filming the snakes striking the balloon at temperatures ranging from 15 to 35°C, the team could see that the warmer snakes were definitely the liveliest. ‘One Mojave rattlesnake, nicknamed Hulk, was renowned for being quite intimidating. At 35°C, he would strike very quickly at anything that moved and constantly try to escape the enclosure’, Whitford recalls.Sure enough, when the team the measured the speed of the snakes’ movements, the chilliest snakes were more sluggish than the hottest, with the coldest snakes striking at speeds of up to 3.73 m s−1, while the hottest snakes launched themselves at the balloon as fast as 5.26 m s−1. The coolest reptiles also opened their mouths more slowly and were less likely to have a go at a balloon victim. However, when the team compared the impact of temperature on the snakes’ attack speeds, the coldest snakes were moving faster than the team would anticipate if their speed was set by body temperature alone, suggesting that the chilly animals also rely on springy tendons to help catapult themselves at a potential snack. In addition, the hottest snakes landed fewer successful strikes than the colder animals, although Whitford suspects that the hot animals might have been pulling back a little, in order to scare off potential threats, instead of trying to plunge their fangs in.Even though cold rattlesnakes are more vulnerable, Whitford cautions that the feisty animals are still lethal. ‘A cold rattlesnake is still a very dangerous animal, so don't try to pick it up!’ he warns.

Validated High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Method for Stability Study of Eptifibatide.

Eptifibatide (EPT) is a cyclic heptapeptide derived from a protein found in the venom of the south-eastern pygmy rattle snake used as an antiplatelet drug. In this study, a newly developed HPLC method demonstrating no interference from the different degradation products of EPT has been optimized and validated. The method was based on HPLC separation of eptifibatide from its degradation products using reversed phase C18 column at ambient temperature with mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile: 50 mM sodium dihydrogen orthophosphate dihydrate, pH was adjusted to 2.2 with orthophosphoric acid (25:75 v/v). Quantitation was achieved with UV detection at 220 nm based on peak area. The proposed method was validated according to the ICH guidelines and applied to evaluate the stability of EPT under different stress conditions including temperature, oxidation and hydrolysis over wide pH range (2-10). Moreover, kinetic study of EPT oxidation and its hydrolysis at pH 10 was demonstrated. The proposed method was successfully applied to quantify EPT in bulk powder and in pharmaceutical formulation with a runtime shorter than all the reported methods.

A rattlesnake finds refuge

A rattlesnake finds refuge

Abstract CT070: Innovative design for a phase I trial with intra-patient dose escalation: The Crotoxin study

Abstract INTRODUCTION. Crotoxin is a bipartite South America rattle snake neurotoxin. It has broad spectrum antitumor activity in vivo in addition to exerting analgesic effects. Prior clinical reports using i.m. injections resulted in local immune reactions with erythema, itching or pain, in addition to anaphylaxis though encouraging responses were recorded. A clinical study was designed incorporating i.v. administration, dose escalation and pre-treatment antihistamine use, aimed at improving dose limiting toxicity (DLT) and local tolerance. METHOD. This trial was performed in patients with stage IV cancer with the primary endpoints to assess safety and tolerability, measured by Dose-Limiting Toxicity (DLT) and to define the Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD). The secondary objectives were to document anti-tumor efficacy, evaluated according to radiological RECIST criteria 1.0 and analgesia. Baseline pain assessments were completed for each patient. Cohort I included 6 patients with advanced solid tumors (no further therapy options), with dose escalation from 0.04 to 0.32 mg/m2/day administered IV by saline drip over 2h daily (Mon to Fri) over 54 days. RESULTS.One male and 5 females (pts) with prior heavily-treated advanced tumors were enrolled: colorectal adenocarcinoma, epithelioid mesothelioma, non-small-cell lung cancer, carcinoma of unknown primary site, invasive breast ductal carcinoma and ovarian papillary adenocarcinoma. Three patients reached the highest target dose level. DLT or MTD were not attained. In Cohort I grade 1 to 2 drug-related events occurred in 3/6 patients: anorexia, diplopia and nystagmus. There were no drug-related serious adverse events. Tumor assessment was performed after 8 weeks of dose escalation (day 54) and all subjects were determined to have progressive disease. At baseline, pain was reported for 5/6 subjects, surveys revealed a diminution of analgesic scores. CONCLUSION: Crotoxin i.v. dose escalation protocol allowed administering 0.32 mg/m2/day without unexpected toxicity. Lack of anti-cancer benefit might be related to the long period of 6-8 weeks to reach this dose. A redesign of the protocol to escalate faster and to higher doses, without weekend breaks, is required. Citation Format: Jacques Medioni, Mara Brizard, Reza Elaidi, Paul F. Reid, Benlhassan5 Khadija, Dorothy Bray. Innovative design for a phase I trial with intra-patient dose escalation: The Crotoxin study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr CT070.

Use an As-Needed Antivenom Dosing Strategy for Rattlesnake Bites

CroFab antivenom is the treatment for rattlesnake envenomation, but it is expensive (~$2,300 per vial). After initial control of the envenomation,

Bitten by A Rattlesnake? Find a Toxicologist!

Approximately 9000 patients are treated for rattlesnake envenomations in the U.S. each year. Treatment typically involves the use of antivenom;

Back Talk-When Your New Best Friend is a Rattlesnake

Back Talk-When Your New Best Friend is a Rattlesnake

Australian elapid snake envenomation in cats: Clinical priorities and approach.

Practical relevance: No fewer than 140 species of terrestrial snakes reside in Australia, 92 of which possess venom glands. With the exception of the brown tree snake, the venom-producing snakes belong to the family Elapidae. The venom of a number of elapid species is more toxic than that of the Indian cobra and eastern diamondback rattle snake, which has earned Australia its reputation for being home to the world's most venomous snakes. Clinical challenges: The diagnosis of elapid snake envenomation is not always easy. Identification of Australian snakes is not straightforward and there are no pathognomonic clinical signs. In cats, diagnosis of envenomation is confounded by the fact that, in most cases, there is a delay in seeking veterinary attention, probably because snake encounters are not usually witnessed by owners, and also because of the tendency of cats to hide and seek seclusion when unwell. Although the administration of antivenom is associated with improved outcomes, the snake venom detection kit and antivenom are expensive and so their use may be precluded if there are financial constraints. Evidence base: In providing comprehensive guidance on the diagnosis and treatment of Australian elapid snake envenomation in cats, the authors of this review draw on the published veterinary, medical and toxicology literature, as well as their professional experience as specialists in medicine, and emergency medicine and critical care.

改进的响尾蛇双模式细胞模型的图像融合

改进的响尾蛇双模式细胞模型的图像融合

Ice-Rafted Erratics and Bergmounds from Pleistocene Outburst Floods, Rattlesnake Mountain, Washington, USA

Abstract. Eisverfrachteter Schutt findet sich häufig im Stauwasserbereich der 1.100 km weit reichenden gigantischen Ausbruchsflutwellen aus den eiszeitlichen Missoula- und Columbia-Seen im Nordwesten der USA. Eine detaillierte Analyse erfolgte am Rattlesnake Mountain. Dort ist eine außergewöhnlich hohe Konzentration dieses Schutts in der Mitte des Gerinnebettbodens zu finden. Zeitweilig bildete der Flaschenhals des Wallula Gap die erste wesentliche hydraulische Verengung und ließ die Gletscherflut vorübergehend auf 380 m Seehöhe ansteigen, wodurch kurzzeitig der Lewis See gebildet wurde. Auf einer Fläche von 60 km2 wurden mehr als 2.100 Findlinge, Ansammlungen von erratischen Felsbrocken und Bergmounds registriert. Im Gegensatz zum lokal vorkommenden dunklen Columbia River Basalt bestehen drei Viertel der Findlinge aus granitartigem Material. Auch Schutt von dem ehemals im Norden verlaufenden Eisgebirgszug wie sedimentärer Quarzit aus dem Proterozoikum, Tonschiefer, Gneisgestein, Diorit, Schiefer und Paulitfels wurden hier gefunden. Ein Großteil des eis-verfrachteten Schutts befindet sich auf 200–300 m Seehöhe. Weit weniger Findlinge und Bergmounds sind über 300 m Seehöhe anzutreffen, da es überwiegend Fluten von sub-maximalen Ausmaßen gab. Außerdem liefen größere Eisberge aufgrund ihres Tiefgangs weit von der Küstenlinie des vorübergehend bestehenden Lake Lewis auf Grund. Bei der Flutbewegung über den unebenen Untergrund des Rattlesnake Mountain blieben viele Findlinge in bereits vorhandenen, quer zur Flutrichtung verlaufenden Wasserrinnen hängen.

Rattlesnake Hunting in Ansted

Rattlesnake Hunting in Ansted

Bleeding After Rattlesnake Bites in Anticoagulated Patients

Clinically significant bleeding following rattlesnake envenomation has been rare. However, many people are now on antiplatelet and anticoagulant medications, and whether they are more likely to bleed after being bitten is not known. Researchers in Arizona reviewed the records of 319 patients older than 14 years who had sustained rattlesnake envenomations to compare hospital courses and long-term outcomes between 31 patients (10%) who …

Skin lipid structure controls water permeability in snake molts

The role of lipids in controlling water exchange is fundamentally a matter of molecular organization. In the present study we have observed that in snake molt the water permeability drastically varies among species living in different climates and habitats. The analysis of molts from four snake species: tiger snake, Notechis scutatus, gabon viper, Bitis gabonica, rattle snake, Crotalus atrox, and grass snake, Natrix natrix, revealed correlations between the molecular composition and the structural organization of the lipid-rich mesos layer with control in water exchange as a function of temperature. It was discovered, merging data from micro-diffraction and micro-spectroscopy with those from thermal, NMR and chromatographic analyses, that this control is generated from a sophisticated structural organization that changes size and phase distribution of crystalline domains of specific lipid molecules as a function of temperature. Thus, the results of this research on four snake species suggest that in snake skins different structured lipid layers have evolved and adapted to different climates. Moreover, these lipid structures can protect, "safety", the snakes from water lost even at temperatures higher than those of their usual habitat.

The Last of the Wildcatters: The Life and Times of Harvey Rhoads in His Own Words ed. by Tai Kreidler and H. Allen Anderson (review)

Reviewed by: The Last of the Wildcatters: The Life and Times of Harvey Rhoads in His Own Words ed. by Tai Kreidler and H. Allen Anderson Kay Goldman The Last of the Wildcatters: The Life and Times of Harvey Rhoads in His Own Words. Edited by Tai Kreidler and H. Allen Anderson. (Waco: Eakin Press, 2012. Pp. 220. Illustrations, notes, index. ISBN 9781934645635, $18.95 cloth.) The Last of the Wildcatters: The Life and Times of Harvey Rhoads in His Own Words is the story of Harvey Rhoads's life as he described it in interviews [End Page 226] given between 1994 and 2002. Because most of the book is quoted verbatim from the interviews, it is essentially a memoir that includes very little analysis or interpretation. Rhoads begins his story with his family genealogy and then describes his youth in Dallas, Texas. After December 7, 1942, Rhoads tried to enlist in the U.S. Navy but was rejected for medical reasons; however, eighteen months later he was accepted and sent to the Pacific. His stories of being stationed on Guiuan Island in the Philippines are noteworthy because he describes everyday life on the island, which was without electricity. Existing on C-rations and cold showers, Rhoads lost fifty-five pounds, dropping from 190 pounds to 135 before the generators arrived. Despite some deprivations, Rhoades spent his days sailing around the island in his commanding officer's small boat and taking other sailors to beaches and on fishing trips. After the war, Rhoads returned to Dallas and found a job with Atlantic Refining, later Atlantic Richfield, where he was trained as a geological map draftsman. He also learned to be an oil scout by poking around wells being drilled by other companies. After about a decade of working for the large oil companies, Rhoads quit to become an independent oil man. Often taking farmout leases, Rhoads drilled some dry holes and some solidly producing wells, and he lived the boom and bust life like other independent oil men. Throughout his interviews, Rhoads defines most of the oilfield terms he uses, and he does an admirable job of providing a concise description of the Tidelands controversy. He also includes a few humorous incidents such as the night he nearly stepped on a large rattle snake as he bounded up the ladder of a drilling rig. He was technically trespassing since the well did not belong to him, and the operators had killed the snake and tied it to the ladder as a joke. Rhoads crafts a picture of himself as a hardworking, devout conservative who lived by strict principles of right and wrong and did not make compromises. But the editors never challenge this impression even when Rhoads willingly circumvented state and federal regulations. During the years when oil was sold by a two tier-system— small stripper wells that brought $33 per barrel and oil from wells producing more than ten barrels brought only $5—Rhoads drilled a well that he knew was going to be a good producer. He planned to frack his new well, but he delayed that procedure until the well was classified as a stripper. Thus he was able to sell his oil at the higher price even though the well was producing more than ten barrels a day. This action dodged the intent of the regulation, surely a compromise of sorts. Despite its shortcomings, the book provides an accurate depiction of the audacious men and later women who earned their living drilling oil wells. It also offers insight into the unstable nature of the oil business, [End Page 227] especially as lived by those men and women who were independent producers and those who are still earning a living in that precarious industry. Kay Goldman Texas A&M University Copyright © 2013 The Texas State Historical Association

Slithering Toward Clarity: Snakes Shed New Light on the Evolution and Function of Sex Chromosomes

Slithering Toward Clarity: Snakes Shed New Light on the Evolution and Function of Sex Chromosomes

Chemosensory responses to chemical and visual stimuli in five species of colubrid snakes

Snakes utilize chemical and visual stimuli during predation, however the emphasis on these cues and which cues are used to initiate predation varies among species. For example, rattlesnakes using the ambush strategy rely on chemical cues to locate an ambush station, then visual and thermal cues to initiate envenomating strikes, then chemical cues again to track prey. By contrast, many natricine snakes use chemical cues to initiate predation, increasing the rate of tongue flicking regardless of whether visual cues are present. The present study examined the individual and interactive effects of chemical and visual stimuli of prey on the predatory behavior of five snake taxa representing three feeding guilds. Bull snakes ( Pituophis catenifer ), Eastern Corn snakes ( Pantherophis guttatus ), and Midland Rat snakes ( Scotophis spiloides ) have a diet primarily consisting of mammals; Western Fox snakes ( Mintonius vulpina ) prey primarily on bird eggs; and Common Kingsnakes ( Lampropeltis getula ) prey equally on mammals and reptiles. Three patterns of response to chemical and visual stimuli of the test prey ( Mus musculus ) were observed. Mammal specialists responded to chemical cues. Fox snakes responded to visual cues, but not to chemical cues. Kingsnakes exhibited increased rates of tongue flicking in response to both chemical and visual stimuli. This study suggests correlations between the evolution of prey preference, foraging ecology and the utilization of chemical or visual stimuli by snakes.

Of Rattlesnakes, Wolves, and Tigers: A Harangue at the Chickasaw Bluffs, 1796

Of Rattlesnakes, Wolves, and Tigers: A Harangue at the Chickasaw Bluffs, 1796