The Gila Monster and Diabetes (Elliott H-G's PSA)
Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) Facts
- Beaded Scales (Has Inspired Native American Art)
- One Of Only Two Seriously Venomous Lizards (Other Is The Closely Related Mexican Beaded Lizard)
- Forked Tongue, Jacobson's Organ And Venom Suggests A Closer Ancestry With Snakes
- Venom Glands Are On The Bottom Jaw, Requiring Chewing With Its Grooved Teeth To Insert The Venom (They Also Are Said To Flip)
- While The Venom Is Painful, It's Not Lethal
- Behavior Towards Humans Is Generally Non-Aggressive And Reclusive
- Claws Are Suited For Burrowing, Where It Can Spend Up To 98% Of Its Life At
- Food Adaptions - Stores Fat In The Tail, Eats Large Meals (3-4 Meals Can Meet Its Yearly Needs)
- Usually Listed As Threatened Or Near Threatened, Protected By Arizona Law Since 1952
- The Helodermatidae Family Has Remained Fairly Unchanged Morphologically For Millions Of Years
- 20-30 Year Lifespan
- Largest Lizards In The U.S. (Up To 2 ft., 5 lbs.)
- A Synthetic Version of Exendin-4 Found In The Venom Is Used To Treat Type II Diabetes
Exendin-4 is a protein found in the Gila Monster venom that can induce the release of insulin in Type II Diabetic patients who are having trouble producing or releasing enough insulin. It's similar to Glucagon-like Peptide-1 analog (GLP-1), but GLP-1 has a very short half-life requiring multiple daily injections; Exendin-4 lasts for 12 or more hours. The synthetic version of the protein is called "Exenatide", and marketed under the name "Byetta". Byetta was co-developed by Amylin Pharmeceuticals & Eli Lilly and Company. Byetta has added effects of regulating glucose production in the liver, slowing gastric emptying (which prevents high glucose levels after meals), and decreasing appetite, leading to weight loss and stabilizing 75% of its test patients to healthy glucose levels. Exendin-4 is being further studied for its possible therapeutic effects on the digestive system. Amylin Pharmeuticals, Eli Lilly and Company, and Alkermes Inc. are working on a long-lasting version that aims to only involve a weekly injection. A growing nickname for Byetta is "lizard spit".
I chose the Gila Monster for my PSA not only because I think they're neat, but also due to my concern for the diminishing numbers of native reptiles and amphibians in Arizona. Creating a sustainable society that preserves our world's biodiversity should be one of our top priorities, but economics seems to be the only agenda of today. The benefits that we can derive from the biodiversity of the earth can be found anywhere, and it's not just from plants and fungi like the Gila Monster teaches us. With the United States alone having but 1% of its original grasslands and 50% of its original wetlands left, obviously current methods are insufficient to stop the 6th Mass Extinction that is upon us.
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children." -Native American Proverb
Related Websites
Arizona Partners in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation
The Tucson Herpetological Society
Byetta
Exenatide (Wikipedia)
Email: wraithfyre@hotmail.com
