Well! Well! I thought that was you and I'm glad you could find time to click by today. Y'know, I read once that coffee will fix whatever ails you. I'm not sure I totally buy into that though more and more stuies are showing it does something to lessen the risk of many diseases.... and it gives you healthier hair. (Make sure you let it cool a bit before you massage it into your scalp, eh!). Well, Thailand claims a breakthrough that may cure Ebola and wouldn't that put Thailand's medicos on the world map! Read on...
Siriraj Hospital of Mahidol University researchers today claimed they have
developed the world’s first "antibody treatment" that could cure
Ebola virus infections.
At least a year away from practical application, the antibody was called a significant step toward finding a cure for the disease, which has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa this year. Currently there is no cure, although several experimental drugs have been deployed in the battle against the epidemic.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said Wednesday said it has at least 1,500 doses of an experimental vaccine ready to be given to medical personnel fighting the disease in Africa. The German Press Agency said WHO has been working to speed up testing of two experimental-stage vaccines - chimpanzee adenovirus developed by British company GlaxoSmithKline and a US government laboratory, and VSV developed by Canada's health agency
Siriraj's antibody - developed with the use of human genes, not the Ebola virus itself - is small enough to enter infected cells and access virus proteins within them, doctors said. The antibody is five times smaller than what is being tested in the United States was testing, said Dr Udom Kachinthorn, dean of the medical science faculty at Siriraj.
He added that the Thai antibody had different structures and mechanisms and was more efficient, making a cure derived from it more effective.
Researchers used synthesised Ebola genes in development of the antibody and tested them on samples of haemorrhagic-fever viruses similar, but less virulent, than the five Ebola variants.
Thailand does not possess a Biosafety Level 4 facility required to test on the Ebola virus itself. Doctors also admitted they have not been in contact with the World Health Organization regarding its purported cure.
The next step will be to conduct testing on animals before moving on to human trials. If the tests are successful, the antibody would then need to mass produced. That step would be at least a year away, Dr Udom cautioned.
However, he added, the Thai pharmaceutical sector could expedite the drug's development, pending more tests. To facilitate that, Siam Bioscience, a joint Thai-Cuban pharmaceutical launched this year, will join in the research.
Doctors, eager to promote that the antibody treatment was the first of its kind developed in Thailand, is not a vaccine. Dr Wanpen Chaicumpa, head of the Ebola antibody-development team, said the treatment would be administered after infection through injection.
Antibody treatments work by stimulating the body's natural immune system to fight off infections and replicate the necessary antibodies, which in this case would be supplied by the drug. Dr Wanpen said the Thai antibody was inherently safe and has no side effects because it was developed from human genes.
Despite the optimism trumpeted at the press conference, plenty of questions remain about the surprise Thai research. Ebola is one of a family of viruses that produce haemorrhagic fevers. An antibody treatment capable of treating one does not necessarily mean it will be effective against Ebola, or even all of Ebola's various strains.
Normally it takes years to prove a new vaccine or treatment is both safe and effective before it can be used in the field. But with hundreds of people dying a day in the worst ever outbreak of Ebola, officials worldwide are saying there is no time to wait.
In an effort to save lives, authorities are determined to roll out potential vaccines within months, dispensing with some of the usual testing, and raising unprecedented ethical and practical questions. Along with GlaxoSmithKline, other firms that have either started or announced plans for human trials include Johnson & Johnson, NewLink, Inovio Pharmaceuticals and Profectus Biosciences.
Initial trials of chimpanzee adenovirus started in September on healthy individuals in the United States and Britain, and a first trial for VSV is to start in the coming days in the US.
At least a year away from practical application, the antibody was called a significant step toward finding a cure for the disease, which has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa this year. Currently there is no cure, although several experimental drugs have been deployed in the battle against the epidemic.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said Wednesday said it has at least 1,500 doses of an experimental vaccine ready to be given to medical personnel fighting the disease in Africa. The German Press Agency said WHO has been working to speed up testing of two experimental-stage vaccines - chimpanzee adenovirus developed by British company GlaxoSmithKline and a US government laboratory, and VSV developed by Canada's health agency
Siriraj's antibody - developed with the use of human genes, not the Ebola virus itself - is small enough to enter infected cells and access virus proteins within them, doctors said. The antibody is five times smaller than what is being tested in the United States was testing, said Dr Udom Kachinthorn, dean of the medical science faculty at Siriraj.
He added that the Thai antibody had different structures and mechanisms and was more efficient, making a cure derived from it more effective.
Researchers used synthesised Ebola genes in development of the antibody and tested them on samples of haemorrhagic-fever viruses similar, but less virulent, than the five Ebola variants.
Thailand does not possess a Biosafety Level 4 facility required to test on the Ebola virus itself. Doctors also admitted they have not been in contact with the World Health Organization regarding its purported cure.
The next step will be to conduct testing on animals before moving on to human trials. If the tests are successful, the antibody would then need to mass produced. That step would be at least a year away, Dr Udom cautioned.
However, he added, the Thai pharmaceutical sector could expedite the drug's development, pending more tests. To facilitate that, Siam Bioscience, a joint Thai-Cuban pharmaceutical launched this year, will join in the research.
Doctors, eager to promote that the antibody treatment was the first of its kind developed in Thailand, is not a vaccine. Dr Wanpen Chaicumpa, head of the Ebola antibody-development team, said the treatment would be administered after infection through injection.
Antibody treatments work by stimulating the body's natural immune system to fight off infections and replicate the necessary antibodies, which in this case would be supplied by the drug. Dr Wanpen said the Thai antibody was inherently safe and has no side effects because it was developed from human genes.
Despite the optimism trumpeted at the press conference, plenty of questions remain about the surprise Thai research. Ebola is one of a family of viruses that produce haemorrhagic fevers. An antibody treatment capable of treating one does not necessarily mean it will be effective against Ebola, or even all of Ebola's various strains.
Normally it takes years to prove a new vaccine or treatment is both safe and effective before it can be used in the field. But with hundreds of people dying a day in the worst ever outbreak of Ebola, officials worldwide are saying there is no time to wait.
In an effort to save lives, authorities are determined to roll out potential vaccines within months, dispensing with some of the usual testing, and raising unprecedented ethical and practical questions. Along with GlaxoSmithKline, other firms that have either started or announced plans for human trials include Johnson & Johnson, NewLink, Inovio Pharmaceuticals and Profectus Biosciences.
Initial trials of chimpanzee adenovirus started in September on healthy individuals in the United States and Britain, and a first trial for VSV is to start in the coming days in the US.
If people are dying anyway, why not loosen the normally wisely cautious proceduresw and give them some of these experimental drugs? I mean, what do they have to lose?
See ya, eh!
Bob
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