A study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine suggests that a toxin from the venom of the Brazilian wandering spider may help treat erectile dysfunction in humans.

The study, authored by a team of Brazilian and American scientists, found that the toxin PnTx2-6 improved erectile function in aged rats by boosting the availability of nitric oxide, a chemical that dilates blood vessels and increases blood flow.

"Age-associated erectile dysfunction involves a decrease in nitric oxide availability and impaired relaxation," the authors wrote. "Decrease in erectile function associated with age was partially restored 15 to 20 minutes after injection with PnTx2-6."

Treatment derived from the toxin may help patients who fail to respond to erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra, which use different pathways, study co-author Dr. Kenia Nunes told MSNBC.

These recent findings follow a 2010 study of PnTx2-6 administered to rats also co-authored by Nunes.

Priapism -- a persistent, usually painful erection -- is a symptom of the Brazilian wandering spider's venom, but the exotic arachnid's bite can also be lethal, due to the presence of PhTx3, a potent neurotoxin, that is known to naturally occur only in the spider's venom.