New drug could cure nearly any viral infection

[closeupready]

>>Most bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics such as penicillin, discovered decades ago. However, such drugs are useless against viral infections, including influenza, the common cold, and deadly hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola.

Now, in a development that could transform how viral infections are treated, a team of researchers at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory has designed a drug that can identify cells that have been infected by any type of virus, then kill those cells to terminate the infection.
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In a paper published July 27 in the journal PLoS One, the researchers tested their drug against 15 viruses, and found it was effective against all of them — including rhinoviruses that cause the common cold, H1N1 influenza, a stomach virus, a polio virus, dengue fever and several other types of hemorrhagic fever.<<

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/antiviral-0810.html

Exciting!

[ZombieHorde]

1. Wow. Sounds amazing. nt

[democrat_patriot]

2. Until that one time they attack ALL cells.

Hopefully it will work.

What happens to the world's population when nobody dies from disease anymore? Will we eventually just die from starvation when we can't support ourselves?

[closeupready]

3. Not all diseases are the result of pathogenic viruses, such as influenza or HIV.

Some are age-related, such as osteoporosis or heart disease. Those would still exist.

[MineralMan]

4. This is promising research. I believe, though, that it has only

been tested in vitro so far. It's a long way from being used in humans, if that's correct. It's promising research, though.

[closeupready]

5. From this story, it states that mice were, in fact, tested and cured of H1N1.

>>Most of the tests reported in this study were done in human and animal cells cultured in the lab, but the researchers also tested DRACO in mice infected with the H1N1 influenza virus. When mice were treated with DRACO, they were completely cured of the infection. The tests also showed that DRACO itself is not toxic to mice.

The researchers are now testing DRACO against more viruses in mice and beginning to get promising results. Rider says he hopes to license the technology for trials in larger animals and for eventual human clinical trials.<<

[MineralMan]

7. Excellent! That's even better news. I hope nothing turns up

that causes a problem, since such a drug would be a huge lifesaver.

[MADem]

6. If this comes to fruition, it will CHANGE THE WORLD!!

It might also have application for those people who suffer from these vague illesses, where people feel crappy but medicine doesn't quite have the tools to identify what is troubling them.

Very exciting indeed!!! Big REC!

[RC]

8. And what happens when we find out that

we depend on some virus for certain functions? We depend on certain bacteria for our survival. Why not some virus.

[Maine_Nurse]

9. That isn't altogether unbelievable in some ways...

since having one viral infection in a cell, even one with no negative effects, does protect against others. I admit I'm pretty skeptical of this and its effects on humans. Killing all infected cells at once could have pretty bad effects on the body (overloading of cellular toxins? Spiking potassium levels? overloading kidneys?), not to mention that viruses are pretty rapid to mutate/adapt, so would they be worse than even when the evolve the workaround for this drug (I'd have to say that is a "when" not an "if").

[sam11111]

10. Human tests TOMORROW on folks with fatal diseases, near to their end point? FDA allow it?

Or, could some other nation do that kind of testing?

Some with no agreement viz patents?

Overall....this is huge.