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Rare genetic disorder could hold clue to cure for Ebola
Posted on 11/12/14 at 10:47 am
Posted on 11/12/14 at 10:47 am
quote:
Niemann-Pick Type C, an incredibly rare hereditary disease that's caused primarily by mutations in the NPC1 gene, which is responsible for the body's ability to metabolize lipids
Chandran and his team gave Ebola to mice that had mutations in both copies of the NPC1 gene and another control group with two working copies of the gene. He found the mice without NPC1 mutations died from Ebola within a week of infection, whereas the mice with faulty copies of the gene did not get sick. In another study, soon to be published, Chandran added a third group of mice that had one working copy of the gene and one with mutations. That group of mice still became ill when they were infected with Ebola, but they recovered much faster and survived.
Chandran said he hopes his research will lead to the development of drug that uses NPC1 to stop an Ebola infection.
Very interesting article
LINK
Posted on 11/12/14 at 10:51 am to TigerNick23
Isnt there already a cure?
Posted on 11/12/14 at 10:54 am to TreyAnastasio
Supportive care
Experimental drugs (not 100% effective, Duncan died after receiving experimental drug)
Experimental drugs (not 100% effective, Duncan died after receiving experimental drug)
Posted on 11/12/14 at 10:55 am to TreyAnastasio
quote:
Isnt there already a cure?
Nuke Africa
Posted on 11/12/14 at 11:01 am to TigerNick23
quote:
"Ebola virus entry requires the cholesterol transporter Niemann-Pick C1." In other words, a person without a functioning NPC1 gene appears to be incapable of catching the Ebola virus.
That's a profound discovery. The article said it applies to Marburg and AIDS as well.
quote:
"What we're trying to do is develop small molecule therapy that would incapacitate the gene temporarily, and then take them off the drug and everything goes back to normal," he said.
"Small molecule therapy." Wow, the development of medical technology is blazing along at the same pace as other technologies.
Posted on 11/12/14 at 11:03 am to TreyAnastasio
quote:
Isnt there already a cure?
No. You're thinking of ZMAPP, a drug that is in clinical trials. It, and other drugs in development, are showing promise but none of them have been declared to be reliable cures.
Posted on 11/12/14 at 2:34 pm to Kentucker
I was thinking of the fact that people dont die from it after getting medical care
Posted on 11/12/14 at 3:35 pm to TigerNick23
gonna be soooo pissed if they cure this before aidz.
Posted on 11/12/14 at 3:36 pm to TreyAnastasio
quote:
Isnt there already a cure?
Being white.
If someone already said this I apologize, I haven't read the conversation.
Posted on 11/12/14 at 3:42 pm to TreyAnastasio
quote:
I was thinking of the fact that people dont die from it after getting medical care
ZMAPP has been used on only five people, one of whom died. The priest in Spain died after taking it. Brincidofovir has been used on two people, one of whom died.
Here's a link for more info, No cure.
Posted on 11/12/14 at 6:51 pm to TigerNick23
I actually support Ebola. It's natures way of cleaning up a bit.
Posted on 11/12/14 at 7:49 pm to CtotheVrzrbck
quote:
I actually support Ebola. It's natures way of cleaning up a bit.
Ebola is probably not going to be the depopulator a lot of us have expected for a long while now. While it certainly has a very high kill rate (the West African strain is reputedly averaging 70%) of those it infects, it spreads through bodily fluids.
This mode of spread is far less efficient than say, bird flu which can spread through the air. Avian flu is scarier than Ebola in that it spreads with lightening speed. H5N1, the current threat, could mutate to a human strain now and be on the other side of the earth tomorrow via jet travel.
The last Great Depopulator was the novel human strain of H1N1 avian flu in 1918. It killed, by some estimates, up to 100 million people. Extrapolating that number to today's population, we could expect to lose half a billion people to a new avian flu strain.
Even with the primitive transportation available in the early 20th century, H1N1 spread all around the globe in a mere three weeks.
On average, new avian flu strains pop up in humans two to three times per century. We are long overdue, some 96 years, for the next one.
This post was edited on 11/12/14 at 7:52 pm
Posted on 11/12/14 at 9:27 pm to StrawsDrawnAtRandom
quote:
Being white
How so?
Posted on 11/12/14 at 10:05 pm to TigerNick23
Ara Parseghian and his foundation had/have been very helpful - funding much of the research that characterized the molecular basis for NPC disease.
I'm sure his family is hopeful that there will be even more interest now that there is a more "acute" need to understand NPC1's function.
I'm sure his family is hopeful that there will be even more interest now that there is a more "acute" need to understand NPC1's function.
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