New York – Team Fredi was bitten by a snake a few hundred times – often purposefully. Now scientists are studying his blood in hopes of creating better treatment for snake bite.
Fred has long been attracted to reptiles and other toxic animals. He milk the hobby discipline and the poison of the spider as a hobby and left a dozen snakes in his Wisconsin home.
In the hope of protecting himself from a snake bite – and whom he called “common curiosity” – he began to injection with a small dose of snake poison and then gradually increased the amount to increase tolerance. Then he would let the snake bite him.
“At first it was very scary,” said Fred. “But the more you do it, the better you get it, the more you will be more calm with it” ”
Although a doctor or emergency medical technician – or someone – really – it will never advise a distant concept, experts say how the body works tracks. When the immune system comes in contact with snake poison toxins, it develops antibodies that can neutralize poison. If it is a small amount of poison, the body may respond before it is overwhelmed. And if it is seen before the body, it can respond faster and manage larger exposure.
Freds have endured snackboats and injections for almost two decades and still have a refrigerator full of poison. In the videos posted on his YouTube channel, he showed the fungus signs on his arm from the black mamba, taipan and water cobra bite.
“I wanted to push the limits around the death as much as possible where I am basically tieering there and then it is back,” he said. He said.
But Fred also wanted to help. He emailed all the scientists he could find, he asked them to study the tolerance they would create.
And there is a need: According to the World Health Organization, about 5 people die in snakeboight every year. And creating antivenom is expensive and difficult to make. It is often made by injecting large mammals like horses with poison and collecting antibodies they produce. These antivenms are usually effective against certain snake species and can sometimes create bad reactions due to their inhuman sources.
When Peter Koong, Colombia University heard of Fredi, he said, “Oh, wow, this is very unusual. We had a special person that he had made for over 18 with amazing antibodies we had a special person.”
In a study published in the Journal Cell on Friday, Quang and allies shared what they were able to do with Fredi’s unique blood: they have detected two antibodies that one day, to create such treatment, neutralize poison from various species that can provide broad protection.
This is very early research – Antivenum was tested in only rats and researchers are still a few years away from human trial. And when their experimental treatment promises against the snake group of mamas and cobra, it is not effective against the viper, which includes snakes like ratler.
“Despite the promise, there is a lot of work to do,” SnakeBight researcher Nicholas Ceswell said in an email of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Ceswell was not involved in new research.
Fredi’s journey was not without his misses. Among them: He said that after a bad snake bite, he had to cut off some of his fingers. And some especially the naughty cobra bite sent him to the hospital.
Freddy is now employed by Sentivax, which is trying to develop treatment, and he is excited that his 18 -year -old Odyssey can one day save life from snackboight. But his message is quite simple to those who are inspired to follow his move: “Don’t do this,” he said.
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Associated Press Health and Science Department has received the support of the Science and Educational Media Group and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation of the Hughes Medical Institute. AP is the sole responsible for all content.
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