SALVARSAN- THE HERO
HIV AIDS of the 19th century, and the magic drug that cured it !
Imagine a situation where as a doctor, you have to break the news to a patient that he is diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease. Many people reading this will probably came to the confirmation of HIV. But, if the same scene happened a century ago, diagnosis would have been – ‘Syphilis’. Similar to today’s HIV AIDS, syphilis was the 19th century's incurable pandemic that had a remarkably high mortality rate.
There came in the hero – Salvarsan !
Salvarsan was discovered in 1910 by Paul Ehlrich, an eminent researcher and a Nobel prize winner. Ehlrich was a physician by profession. As a medical student, he was always fascinated about how they used chemical dyes to specifically stain microbes at the lab. This enthusiasm that he had as a student, led him to develop the concept of “ Magic Bullet ”.
A Magic Bullet is a substance that could destroy the infecting organism and in turn do not imply any damage to the host organism astonishingly.
His idea of Magic Bullet was not a mere illusion. He himself was soon able to put it in reality ! It was in 1905 when the causative organism of syphilis was identified – Treponema pallidum.
Ehrlich heard that the organism that caused syphilis had been identified ultimately and he also came to know that an arsenic containing
compound, Atoxyl, had shown little favourable outcome as a medicament even though it was detrimental to human cells with displeasing side effects. But this was the starting point that Ehrlich needed. Ehrlich synthesised a large number of substances similar to Atoxyl. Once he had agglomerated a large pool of compounds he started to screen through this multitude of arsenic containing compounds to hunt for one that would specifically target the Treponema pallidum.
As the screening went on. One day, his lab assistant Hata ran in beaming, and gave Ehrlich the happy news -a rabbit had been cured of syphilis, with no evident side effects, by Compound No. 606! None other than -Salvarsan.
Salvarsan was a true blockbuster, it remained the most prescribed drug and the most effective treatment for syphilis until the discovery of penicillin in the 1940s. Even after it lost the top spot, still continues to inspire and fascinate scientists and researchers because of the innovative thought process that was behind the discovery of this compound.
Does this century-old story relate anyway with the current pandemic ?
Yes ! Since Ehlrich's discovery of Salvarsan, arsenic compounds were of biomedical interest in various branches of medicine. Most recently, a claim was made stating homeopathic Arsenic compound – Arsenicuma album 30 as a cure to COVID 19. Authenticity yet to be established !
Learn from Ehlrich:
• Be an enthusiastic student at medschool. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
• Have a clear thought process! Ehlrich was one of the first few people who was able to define the active compound in the substance he discovered.
• Develop from scratch; Atoxyl was a very simple base, from where he arrived at Salvarsan.
• Have the right team: Ehlrich had a highly proficient team, consisting of multifaceted people.
• Never give up: Compound number 606 was Salvarsan, that was effective. That means 605 failed attempts, and his research moved on! Woah ! Pharmacology and life sometimes demand a high level persistence and perseverance.
Not only in majestic researches, these values will gift you success even in the smallest of your endeavours. A tiny step in the right direction is the biggest leap you can ever have in life !
Imagine a situation where as a doctor, you have to break the news to a patient that he is diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease. Many people reading this will probably came to the confirmation of HIV. But, if the same scene happened a century ago, diagnosis would have been – ‘Syphilis’. Similar to today’s HIV AIDS, syphilis was the 19th century's incurable pandemic that had a remarkably high mortality rate.
There came in the hero – Salvarsan !
Salvarsan was discovered in 1910 by Paul Ehlrich, an eminent researcher and a Nobel prize winner. Ehlrich was a physician by profession. As a medical student, he was always fascinated about how they used chemical dyes to specifically stain microbes at the lab. This enthusiasm that he had as a student, led him to develop the concept of “ Magic Bullet ”.
A Magic Bullet is a substance that could destroy the infecting organism and in turn do not imply any damage to the host organism astonishingly.
His idea of Magic Bullet was not a mere illusion. He himself was soon able to put it in reality ! It was in 1905 when the causative organism of syphilis was identified – Treponema pallidum.
Ehrlich heard that the organism that caused syphilis had been identified ultimately and he also came to know that an arsenic containing
compound, Atoxyl, had shown little favourable outcome as a medicament even though it was detrimental to human cells with displeasing side effects. But this was the starting point that Ehrlich needed. Ehrlich synthesised a large number of substances similar to Atoxyl. Once he had agglomerated a large pool of compounds he started to screen through this multitude of arsenic containing compounds to hunt for one that would specifically target the Treponema pallidum.
The inquest for the magic bullet had started.
As the screening went on. One day, his lab assistant Hata ran in beaming, and gave Ehrlich the happy news -a rabbit had been cured of syphilis, with no evident side effects, by Compound No. 606! None other than -Salvarsan.
Salvarsan was a true blockbuster, it remained the most prescribed drug and the most effective treatment for syphilis until the discovery of penicillin in the 1940s. Even after it lost the top spot, still continues to inspire and fascinate scientists and researchers because of the innovative thought process that was behind the discovery of this compound.
Does this century-old story relate anyway with the current pandemic ?
Yes ! Since Ehlrich's discovery of Salvarsan, arsenic compounds were of biomedical interest in various branches of medicine. Most recently, a claim was made stating homeopathic Arsenic compound – Arsenicuma album 30 as a cure to COVID 19. Authenticity yet to be established !
Learn from Ehlrich:
• Be an enthusiastic student at medschool. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
• Have a clear thought process! Ehlrich was one of the first few people who was able to define the active compound in the substance he discovered.
• Develop from scratch; Atoxyl was a very simple base, from where he arrived at Salvarsan.
• Have the right team: Ehlrich had a highly proficient team, consisting of multifaceted people.
• Never give up: Compound number 606 was Salvarsan, that was effective. That means 605 failed attempts, and his research moved on! Woah ! Pharmacology and life sometimes demand a high level persistence and perseverance.
Not only in majestic researches, these values will gift you success even in the smallest of your endeavours. A tiny step in the right direction is the biggest leap you can ever have in life !
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