Biophysical aspects of the neuroparalytic poisonings caused by Elapidae snakebites

Snakebite is classified by the WHO (World Health Organization) as a neglected tropical disease, envenoming in a significant public health problem in tropical and subtropical regions. Neurotoxicity is a key feature of some envenoming, and there are many unanswered question regarding this manifestation. Acute neuromuscular weakness with respiratory involvement is the most clinically important neurotoxic effect. We present how the neuroparalytic poison affects the human body and what actually happens when the poison is injected into the human body. Neuroparalytic poisons are one of the most lethal, because they cause paralysis of the eye, throat and pectoral muscles. A well-known member of the Elapidae family is the Cobra. The snakes from this family live in the tropical and subtropical areas of Asia, Africa, Australia, North and South Amerika. Chuan-Chiung Chan is the discoverer of the neuroparalytic substance called bungarotoxin. It consists of three components - α-bungarotoxin, β-bungarotoxin and γ-bungarotoxin. The toxin is also made of proteins and lipids and its effect is due to the curare-like effect of the poison in the synaptic and pre-synaptic area of the neuron and the following blockage of the neuro-transmition.Bungarotoxins are a group of closely related neurotoxin proteins. α-bungarotoxin inhibits the binding of acetylcholine (ACh) to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors; β- and γ-bungarotoxins act presynaptically caus-ing excessive acetylcholine release and subsequent depletion.