Lizard Spit

The Telegraph (UK) reported today on new medication developed from the saliva of the Gila Monster.

Diabetes sufferers could avoid complications including heart disease, kidney failure and blindness thanks to a new drug based on the spit of a giant poisonous lizard.

Scientists have developed a new treatment for the disease following the discovery that a chemical in the saliva of the pink and black Gila monster contains a chemical in its saliva, which is similar to a human hormone that helps regulate blood sugar.

Exenatide, which works by stimulating the pancreas to produce more insulin in response to raised blood sugar, was launched in the UK last week under the brand name Byetta. A chemical in the lizard’s saliva called exendin-4 was shown to act in a similar way to the human hormone glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1).

In healthy humans, GLP-1 triggers the production of insulin in the pancreas when blood sugar levels get too high. In those with Type 2 diabetes the signal to make more insulin is weak or missing.

“The Gila monster only eats three or four times a year, and a compound produced in its salivary glands called exendin-4 may help them digest these meals very slowly over time. That is an advantageous quality when translated into controlling diabetes.”

This is great news for diabetics, and taking lizard spit as a medicine is way better than taking some derivative of bugs or spiders.