Background and objectives: Viper snake envenoming induces in the victims systemic coagulopathy, and severe local tissue damage such as edema, hemorrhage, intense pain, and myonecrosis. Serumtherapy and other first-aid managements are ineffective in neutralizing these local effects. The effects of the gallium-arsenide (Ga-As) laser irradiation on mice gastrocnemius injected intramuscularly (i.m.) with Bothrops moojeni snake venom were investigated.
Study design/materials and methods: Macroscopical, histopatological, and myonecrosis quantification through serum creatine kinase (CK) evaluation was done at 3, 12, and 24 hours (two, five, and eight irradiation sessions, 4 J/cm(2), 1 minute 32 seconds per period, respectively), were done after the venom or saline injection, and in venom-unirradiated mice.
Results: In unirradiated gastrocnemius, the venom induced massive hemorrhage, vascular congestion, time-progressing myonecrosis, edema, abundant inflammatory infiltrate, and high CK serum levels. Ga-As irradiation significantly decreased the amount of myonecrosis in all the periods tested (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: The laser treatment significantly inhibited the ability of B. moojeni venom to rapidly disrupt the integrity of the plasma membrane.
Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.