31 July, 2013

The history of scorpion antivenom in North America

Leslie Boyer has written a very interesting article on the history of scorpion antivenom. The paper's main focus is North America, but main globale events in the history of scorpion antivenom and treatment are also presented.

Abstract:
This paper was originally presented as the Elsevier Lecture in July, 2012 at the International Society on Toxinology/Venom Week combined meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. In it, the author addresses the ancient history of venom and immunity, from the Silurian Era to the 1890s; the development of the first antivenoms; the impact of shifting political and economic pressures; the special case of Arizona; the relative stability of the 1960s through 1990s; the transition to regulatory compliance that took place at the time of the author’s own research; and concluding thoughts regarding the instability of apparent success.

Reference:
Boyer L. History of scorpion antivenom: One Arizonan's view. Toxicon. 2013;69:14-20. [Subscription required for full text]

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