09-Neuroactive compounds obtained from arthropod venoms as new therapeutic platforms for the treatment of neurological disorders

1 Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, Department of Physiological Sciences, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil

The impact of neurological disorders in society is growing with alarming estimations for an incidence increase in the next decades. These disorders are generally chronic and can affect individuals early during productive life, imposing real limitations on the performance of their social roles. Patients can have their independence, autonomy, freedom, self-image, and self-confidence affected. In spite of their availability, drugs for the treatment of these disorders are commonly associated with side effects, which can vary in frequency and severity. Currently, no effective cure is known. Nowadays, the biopharmaceutical research community widely recognizes arthropod venoms as a rich source of bioactive compounds, providing a plethora of possibilities for the discovery of new neuroactive compounds, opening up novel and attractive opportunities in this field. Several identified molecules with a neuropharmacological profile can act in the central nervous system on different neuronal targets, rendering them useful tools for the study of neurological disorders. In this context, this review aims to describe the current main compounds extracted from arthropod venoms for the treatment of five major existing neurological disorders: stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and pathological anxiety.

Corresponding author: Márcia R Mortari mmortari@unb.br; mamortari@gmail.com2

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ contributions

All authors actively participated in the writing of this review. VMF contributed to the design and coordination of this work, reviewed the manuscript for language, and along with MRM wrote the introduction and section “Cerebrovascular disease and pharmacological challenges”. FMMG collaborated by diagramming and organizing all references, and wrote part of the subsection on epilepsy along with JCS. GAAC wrote about Alzheimer's disease. AMB wrote the subsection “Parkinson’s disease and pharmacological challenges”. LCA participated in the writing of the introduction of the subsection “Epilepsy and pharmacological challenges”. JCG described pathological anxiety as a disorder. KSL also contributed to the writing of the subsection entitled “Pathological anxiety and pharmacological challenges”. MRM organized, conceived, and helped in the writing in general, reviewed the article and citations for content, and wrote the conclusion. VMF and JCS were also in charge of the final revision of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.