Venom therapy in multiple sclerosis.
To date many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) seek complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) to treat their symptoms as an adjunct to conventionally used therapies. Among the common CAM therapies, there is a renewed interest in the therapeutic potential of venoms in MS. The efficacy of this therapeutic method remains unclear. However, venom-based therapy using bee, snakes and scorpions venom and/or sea anemones toxin has been recently developed because current investigations have identified the various components and molecular mechanism of the effects of venoms under in vitro and in vivo conditions. The aim of this review is to describe the recent findings regarding the role of venoms and their components in treatment of MS disease and that whether venom therapy could be recommended as a complementary treatment or not.
Mirshafiey
Abbas
A
Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Medical Sciences, University of Tehran, Box 6446, Tehran 14155, Iran. mirshafiey@tums.ac.ir
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014688:Venoms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D014688:Venoms