Treating heart attack and stroke with drugs from spider venom | UQ

Heart attack and stroke are the biggest killers in Australia. Each year, over 55,000 Australians suffer a heart attack and 68,000 a stroke. Often survivors suffer irreversible damage to their heart or brain, substantially reducing quality of life. There are no drugs available to prevent this damage.

Heart attack survivors risk developing heart failure, treatable only by heart transplant, but donor hearts are in short supply and often damaged during retrieval. Stoke survivors may experience permanent loss of function along with physical, emotional and cognitive abilities.

The Infensa team is hoping to change this with some help from an unexpected ally – the venomous Australian funnel-web spider. They have discovered a molecule that prevents cell death during heart attacks or strokes and protects donor hearts during transplantation.  

The team is now advancing to human clinical trials, aiming to develop the first drug for first responders to administer to people experiencing heart attack or stroke.

Finalists - Infensa team | Professor Glenn King, Associate Professor Nathan Palpant, Associate Professor Mark Smythe, Dr Natalie Saez, Dr Aline Dantas de Araujo, Dr Han Chiu

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