Therapeutic applications of conotoxins that target the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

Pain therapeutics discovered by molecular mining of the expressed genome of Australian predatory cone snails are providing lead compounds for the treatment of neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, shingles, diabetic neuropathy and other painful neurological conditions. The high specificity exhibited by these novel compounds for neuronal receptors and ion channels in the brain and nervous system indicates the high degree of selectivity that this class of neuropeptides can be expected to show when used therapeutically in humans. A lead compound, ACV1 (conotoxin Vc1.

Alpha-conotoxin Vc1.1 alleviates neuropathic pain and accelerates functional recovery of injured neurones.

This paper demonstrates the capacity of the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) antagonist alpha-conotoxin Vc1.1 to inhibit pain responses in vivo. Vc1.

Regulation of wheal and flare by tea tree oil: complementary human and rodent studies.

When applied 20 min after injection of histamine into human forearm skin, tea tree oil (TTO) reduces the developing cutaneous vascular response. In this study, the effect of TTO on inflammatory microvascular changes was dissected at the base of an experimental blister on rat skin. 1,8-Cineole, representing 2% of TTO, reduced vascular changes induced by sensory neuropeptides released when the distal portion of a cut sciatic nerve was electrically stimulated.