For several years, the biomedical research community has recognized that compounds already approved for human use might have additional therapeutic applications. To facilitate investigation of new applications for existing drugs, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) assembled several collections of molecules that can be screened for specific characteristics. Two recent papers report the screeningContinueContinue reading “Teaching old drugs new tricks”
Tag Archives: infectious disease
Using the whole plant to treat malaria
The development of drug resistance is a primary factor in the failure of malaria treatment strategies. For example, artemisinin is the drug most commonly used to treat human malaria worldwide, but some malaria parasites have developed resistance to it. Overcoming the development of resistance is therefore a key objective in the search for improved malariaContinueContinue reading “Using the whole plant to treat malaria”
Why ferrets get the same flu that we do
Influenza A virus is a serious threat to human health, owing in part to the potential emergence of highly virulent strains resulting in pandemic infection that can kill millions of people. Ferrets are the dominant model system for studying influenza A virus because they alone are naturally susceptible to the same strains that infect humans.ContinueContinue reading “Why ferrets get the same flu that we do”
A new view of tuberculosis
The tiny zebrafish has enabled some big advances in biomedical research, thanks in part to its optical transparency during embryonic stages, which allows for direct, microscopic visualization of biological processes in vivo in real time. Its latest contribution is to our understanding of tuberculosis, a disease in which pathogenic mycobacteria induce the formation of complexContinueContinue reading “A new view of tuberculosis”
Induce HIV to neutralize HIV
HIV can be effectively suppressed using antiretroviral therapy but surges back once therapy is stopped. Latent reservoirs of infected cells, invisible to the body’s immune system and impervious to drugs, cause the infection to rebound if therapy is terminated. Researchers at Rockefeller University (New York, NY) led by Michel Nussenzweig designed a new, two-part strategyContinueContinue reading “Induce HIV to neutralize HIV”
Interfering with filovrirus replication
Marburg virus, like its fellow filovirus Ebola virus, causes severe hemorrhagic fever with mortality rates reaching 90%. The Ebola virus outbreak currently sweeping western Africa has a mortality rate of 55–60%, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are no approved treatments for viral hemorrhagic fever in humans; most infected individualsContinueContinue reading “Interfering with filovrirus replication”
Wiping out malaria by wiping out mosquitoes
Scientists have developed a radical new strategy for eradicating malaria, which remains a global health threat despite prevention and control activities. Distorting the sex ratio of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the primary malaria vectors, to heavily favor males, which do not bite humans or transmit the disease, effectively eliminated mosquito populations in the lab. Lab Anim.ContinueContinue reading “Wiping out malaria by wiping out mosquitoes”
Stopping the spread of measles
Despite the availability of a potent vaccine, outbreaks of measles continue to occur around the world. Two major factors contribute to this prevalence. First, the measles virus is highly transmissible and may be spread through the air in droplets produced by breathing, sneezing and coughing. Within 2 weeks of exposure to the virus, about 90%ContinueContinue reading “Stopping the spread of measles”
Small molecule, big advance against Marburg virus
Marburg virus, like other filoviruses, causes hemorrhagic fever and has a fatality rate as high as 90%. Filoviruses are normally transmitted between individuals by blood or body fluids but are also infectious in aerosol form, which means they pose the risk of becoming a global health threat as well as being used as agents ofContinueContinue reading “Small molecule, big advance against Marburg virus”
Immunotoxin targets HIV-infected cells
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is normally treated with antiretroviral compounds that suppress virus levels, which can improve quality of life and extend lifespan for affected individuals. But because these compounds do not eliminate the virus from the body, people with HIV must take them throughout their lifetimes in order to maintain their health. Eradication ofContinueContinue reading “Immunotoxin targets HIV-infected cells”
Fluent in Science 