"Scary pit vipers may need an image upgrade Their venom might end up helping human heart patients research suggests. Taiwanese scientists say a blood thinner drug based on venom from the Waglers pit viper was effective in mice and might prove safer than current anticlotting meds for humans one day. The serpentmedicine connection isnt new one cardiologist noted since venom typically kills by disrupting the bloods clotting mechanisms. Blood thinner medications have a long and storied history with snake venom said Dr Satjit Bhysri a heart specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. In fact many current blood thinners are based on initial experiments from proteins found in snake venom he added. In the new study a team led by TurFu Huang a pharmacology researcher at National Taiwan University focused on the venom of the Tropidolaemuswaglerix snake  a Southeast Asian species known as Waglers pit viper or the Temple viper. The snakes venom contains a protein called trowaglerix the researchers explained. Designing a molecule based on trowaglerix Huangs group was able to block GPVI  a protein that sits on the surface of blood platelet cells and is crucial to allowing these cells to clump together and form clots. When mixed with blood the new compound prevented blood cells called platelets from clotting. Also mice that received the drug had slower blood clot formation than untreated mice but the treated mice did not bleed longer than untreated mice. Still experiments in animals often dont translate to success in humans so further research is needed. Dr. Kevin Marzo is head of cardiology at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola N.Y. Reviewing the findings he agreed that the drug under development may have merit. Many of the lifesaving drugs used in the treatment of heart attack patients work by inhibiting platelets and preventing blood clotting. However it is often at the cost of serious bleeding complications he said. The potential development of a new agent based on snake venom that could have similar beneficial effects on preventing blood clotting and potentially cause less bleeding side effects is an exciting discovery that warrants future investigation Marzo added. The study was published June  in the journal Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. More information The American Heart Association has more on anticlotting drugs http_UCM__Article.jsp. SOURCES Satjit Bhusri M..D cardiologist Lenox Hill Hospital New York City Kevin Marzo M.D. chief division of cardiology NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola N.Y. Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology news release June"