Eating out, poor hand hygiene and erratic weather may be among causes, say medics
The drug, bavituximab, takes a novel tack in confronting viruses, which are notorious for mutations that evade or resist conventional pharmaceutical molecules.
Instead of confronting the intruder head-on, bavituximab waits until the virus has infected the cell.
At that point, a fatty molecule called phosphatidylserine, which is normally positioned on the cell wall’s internal surface, flips to the outside of the cell.
Bavituximab then latches onto the phosphatidylserine, sending a red flag to the body’s immune system to dispatch white blood cells to destroy the infected cell.
In a study in Nature Medicine, published by the London-based Nature group, bavituximab was put through its paces among guinea pigs infected with Pichinde virus—a close relative of the Lassa fever virus, considered a potential bioterror weapon by the Pentagon.
Animals that had not been inoculated with bavituximab were all killed; those who had received the injection had a 50-percent survival rate. By giving the bavituximab group an additional injection with a standard anti-virus drug called ribavirin, the survival rate rose to 63 percent.
The drug also provided 100-percent protection amongst mice exposed to a virus called cytomegalovirus (CMV), whereas only 25 percent of untreated animals survived.
Co-author Philip Thorpe, a professor of pharmacology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Texas, said the findings were exciting, for they raised the prospect of a “completely new class” of anti-viral drugs that may also sidestep the problem of mutation.
“By targeting a property of the host cell rather than the virus itself, anti-PS [phosphatidylserine] antibodies have the potential to treat a range of viral infections,” he said in a press release.
“They should be less susceptible to the viral mutations that contribute to the development of drug resistance.”
Bavituximab, a monoclonal antibody, is currently in clinical trials by Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. of California to treat patients with hepatitis C.
Previous research has shown that phosphatidylserine-flipping occurs in cells infected with influenza, the herpes simplex virus, viruses in the families of the smallpox and rabies viruses as well as HIV, UT Southwestern Medical Center said.
Eating out, poor hand hygiene and erratic weather may be among causes, say medics
The goal-scoring striker is suffering from a muscle injury sustained during the Champions League quarter-final loss to Real Madrid
Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, made the announcement on Wednesday
6G will further elevate capabilities of robots, AI, autonomous transport and remote surgery/diagnostics among others
The Nobel laureate has been condemned for partnering with Hillary Clinton, an outspoken supporter of Israel's war against Hamas
Net profit (after tax) up 32% per cent y-o-y to Dh1.45 billion
Goalkeeper Eisa delivered a fantastic performance against Al Hilal to help Al Ain reach the final
Volunteers of the Samantha Kerala Sunni Student Federation used the machine to navigate challenging terrain