A chemical within a traditional Chinese medicine has
been found to be effective against Ebola
A chemical found in the Chinese herb
known as Han Fang ji switches off the channels which the Ebola virus uses to
enter and infect cells, according to research by US and German scientists.
The scientists found that using a
small dose of the chemical tetrandrine, but not the herb itself, stopped the
virus from replicating and protected mice from the disease without obvious side
effects.
The discovery of the promising drug
therapy against Ebola is announced in the journal Science.
Dr Robert Davey, of the Department
of Immunology and Virology at Texas Biomedical Research Institute, says the
small molecule Tetrandrine is a potent at inhibiting infection of human white
blood cells in experiments and preventing Ebola virus disease in mice.
Scientists at Texas Biomed have been
working in the Institute’s Biosafety Level 4 containment laboratory for more
than 10 years to find a vaccine, therapies and detection methods for the Ebola
virus.
The Ebola virus begins its entry
into a cell by first binding to several types of cell surface proteins. Then
the virus is taken into the cell and follows a route which transports the virus
to cell compartments.
“When we tested in mice, the drugs
stopped virus replication and saved most of them from disease,” Davey said.
This drug shows an ability to stop
the virus before it has a chance interact with cells.
“We are very excited about the
progress made in this study and the momentum it provides as scientists across
the world vigorously search for effective vaccines and treatments against Ebola
virus,” Davey said.
“We are cautiously optimistic. The
next step in the process is to test both safety and effectiveness of the
interaction of the drug with Ebola virus in non-human primates.”
So far 9,589 people have died in the
West Africa Ebola outbreak, according to WHO (World Health Organisation).
Source of the report is here.
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