4 ms·

> The experimental pill that Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is testing is a formulation of lotilaner, a drug that paralyzes and kills parasites by interfering with the

> The experimental pill that Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is testing is a formulation of lotilaner, a drug that paralyzes and kills parasites by interfering with the way that signals are passed between their nerve cells. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotilaner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotilaner Couldn't find a good description of mechanism of action on Wikipedia. I also have nerve cells that need to communicate and damaging them just to spite a tick seems counterproductive.

rozap 3y ago
Not sure about the effects of lotilaner as described in the article, but flurolaner is the active ingredient in bravecto, a flea and tick medicine for dogs. There's a class action against the manufacturer as thousands of dogs have gotten seriously ill or killed from the drug. My 2 year old collie (no previous health issues) was poisoned and died after we gave her bravecto. She had several seizures within hours of giving her the dose and was dead within 48 hours. I'm surprised that similar sounding drugs are making their way to humans. I'm not a chemist and I'm not sure how similar lotilaner and flurolaner are, but damn if I'm not suspicious.
- tazu 3y ago
  > My 2 year old collie (no previous health issues) was poisoned and died after we gave her bravecto. She had several seizures within hours of giving her the dose and was dead within 48 hours. That's awful and way too young. I hope the class action has a good outcome.
quatrefoil 3y ago
I mean, we had this stuff for pets for a long time. The basic idea is that yes, it's a lipid-soluble neurotoxin. Because it is fat-soluble, it spreads throughout various tissues and lingers for a good while, which is these pet formulations last for weeks or months. And yes, it is technically a mammal neurotoxin too, although our bodies are better at compartmentalizing and managing the risk. Similarly, you don't drop dead if exposed to caffeine or nicotine, even though they are insect neurotoxins produced by plants to kill bugs. But it cracks me up that we are flipping out about herbicides such as glyphosate or 2,5-D - both of which are plant growth regulators that have no real mechanism to cause obvious harm in animals - but we're a lot more flippant with actual animal neurotoxins such as permethrin.
- hollerith 3y ago
  A lot of the worry about glyphosate is about its effect on microbes in the human gut.

rozap 3y ago

Not sure about the effects of lotilaner as described in the article, but flurolaner is the active ingredient in bravecto, a flea and tick medicine for dogs. There's a class action against the manufacturer as thousands of dogs have gotten seriously ill or killed from the drug. My 2 year old collie (no previous health issues) was poisoned and died after we gave her bravecto. She had several seizures within hours of giving her the dose and was dead within 48 hours. I'm surprised that similar sounding drugs are making their way to humans. I'm not a chemist and I'm not sure how similar lotilaner and flurolaner are, but damn if I'm not suspicious.

tazu 3y ago
> My 2 year old collie (no previous health issues) was poisoned and died after we gave her bravecto. She had several seizures within hours of giving her the dose and was dead within 48 hours. That's awful and way too young. I hope the class action has a good outcome.

quatrefoil 3y ago

I mean, we had this stuff for pets for a long time. The basic idea is that yes, it's a lipid-soluble neurotoxin. Because it is fat-soluble, it spreads throughout various tissues and lingers for a good while, which is these pet formulations last for weeks or months. And yes, it is technically a mammal neurotoxin too, although our bodies are better at compartmentalizing and managing the risk. Similarly, you don't drop dead if exposed to caffeine or nicotine, even though they are insect neurotoxins produced by plants to kill bugs. But it cracks me up that we are flipping out about herbicides such as glyphosate or 2,5-D - both of which are plant growth regulators that have no real mechanism to cause obvious harm in animals - but we're a lot more flippant with actual animal neurotoxins such as permethrin.

hollerith 3y ago
A lot of the worry about glyphosate is about its effect on microbes in the human gut.