Efficacy of scorpion venom is confirmed in Cuba
By Gerardo Arreola
From the Mexican newspaper La Jornada
HAVANA – For the first time in public, Cuba presented two cases that showed a reduction in cancerous tumors and an improvement in the quality of life of patients who, during a period of treatment, received only a natural medication extracted from the venom of scorpions.
“The use of a natural solution of the venom from the Rhopalurus junceus scorpion improves the quality of life of patients with brain tumors, reduces the lesions and is safe,” said Dr. Niudis Cruz Zamora in a research report to the Second Congress of the Entreprenurial Group of Biopharmaceutical and Chemical Products (Labiofam), held here this week.
After the application of the medicine, “no adverse reactions were reported,” said Dr. Cruz Zamora, a leading specialist in integral medicine.
The cases involve a boy and a girl who were treated at the Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital in Havana for brainstem tumors (a Grade 2 astrocytoma and a diffuse glioma, respectively.)
These cases “are considered among the most aggressive among the pediatric population and have bad prognoses,” said Dr. Martha Caridad Ríos Castillo, a second-grade specialist in neurosurgery, who also spoke about the report.
Labiofam is doing research on the toxin, with which it produces a homeopathic medication. For the past decade, its medical team has trated cancer patients and has reported cases of survival and pain reduction when the substance is used along with conventional treatment.
However, the Labiofam researchers had not reported until now on an experience that would confirm the reduction of tumors and an improvement in the quality of life related to the use of the poison as the sole anti-cancerogenic agent during part of the treatment.
The specialists who addressed the Congress explained that the type of tumors in the cases studied represented between 10 and 20 percent of those that affect the central nervous system of children, particularly among children between the ages of 6 and 10.
Survival depends on the site of the lesion. In the brainstem, the survival span ranges between six months and one year from the date of diagnosis. The tumor can grow to a large size before it produces the first symptoms, so the treatment usually comes late.
According to the report, the first case is that of a boy, 5, with good health until May 2011, when he experienced headaches, nausea and vomiting.
He was treated as a case of meningoencephalitis and showed slight improvement but later worsened. He was hospitalized in September 2011. He appeared sleepy and unstable, walking in zigzag fashion. The tumor and hydrocephalus were discovered. He received medicine for the collateral effects, two months of radiotherapy and Cimaher (or Nimotuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody.)
Throughout the treatment, the boy had diverse secondary reactions. Nothing but scorpion venom was administered between October 2011 and April 2012.
To observe the boy’s quality of life, doctors used scales that measure – from 0 to 100 – the behavior of a boy (Lansky scale) and that of a cancer patient (Karnofsky scale). In this case, the patient arrived with a Lansky index of 30 (confined to bed, requiring total assistance) and a Karnofsky index of 50 (needed much attention in bed less than half the day.)
Now, his indicators have risen to a Lansky of 70 (some playtime, with restrictions) and a Karnofsky of 80 (normal activity with an effort, with symptoms of disease.)
The tumor, according to various observation slices, shows reductions that at one point reached 10 millimeters (from 32.4 to 22.1 mm.) In a recent video, the boy can follow an object with his eyes, move his facial muscles at will, show some strength in the arms and walk with slight deviation.
Second case
The second case involves a girl, 11, who arrived at the hospital in 2008. She was tired, had no strength, had headaches and fell while trying to walk. Medication for the collateral effects was the same as in the previous case. In addition, she underwent two months of radiotherapy and a single dose of Nimotuzumab. As in the previous case, she presented secondary reactions. She was kept for three years on a solution of Rhopalurus junceus alone.
She arrived with a Lansky of 50 (prostrate most of the time, with some ability to look after herself) and a Karnofsky of 50 (requiring much attention, in bed less than half the day). Her current indicators are 100 in both cases (normal, without signs of disease in both scales.)
All observation slices of the tumor showed reductions in its size, in one instance measuring 17.9 millimeters (from 45.1 to 27.2 mm.) In a video, the girl shows normal movements and reactions.
Also shown at the Congress were reports on five other cancer patients who showed improvement under a treatment that included scorpion poison in conjunction with other therapy.
