During Ebola outbreak in West Africa, doctors struggled to treat growing numbers of patients. The shortage of one helpful drug may have led to the discovery of a better one.
The results of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine show that Ebola patients given an anti-malarial drug called artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) had a 31 percent lower risk of dying than those given the standard treatment for the mosquito-borne disease.
Early Results from Ebola Drug Trial Shows Limited Promise
Early results from an Ebola trial using Avigan (favipiravir), the experimental drug, showed that it was somewhat effective at saving lives if given early in the illness, but not later.
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‘Anti-malaria drugs called artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) are given to suspected Ebola patients because the symptoms of the two illnesses often overlap’
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The results point to a potentially promising treatment for a disease that has no market-approved treatments or cures, as researchers scramble to come up with a vaccine before the next outbreak strikes.
The study came about when a treatment center run by Doctors Without Borders in Foya, Liberia, "ran out of its supply of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) after a sudden spike in admissions to the center" in August 2014, said the report.
![US Company Says It Has Shipped All Available Doses of Its Experimental Ebola Drug to West Africa]( "US Company Says It Has Shipped All Available Doses of Its Experimental Ebola Drug to West Africa")
An American company has confirmed that it has shipped all available doses of its experimental drug, used in treating Ebola infection, to West Africa.
Suddenly, 100 cases of confirmed Ebola virus were being admitted each week to what had started as a 10-bed isolation unit in a former refugee transit center.
The substitute drug, artesunate-amodiaquine, was prescribed for all patients with suspected Ebola virus disease who were admitted to the treatment center for a period of 12 days, "with no other known systematic changes in care," said the report.
Anti-malaria medicines are routinely given to suspected Ebola patients because the symptoms of the two illnesses -- including fever, headaches and joint pain -- often overlap.
Once the Ebola epidemic finally ebbed, researchers realized they had a significant group of patients -- 381 in all from June to October 2014 -- whose outcomes they could compare and analyze. Some had taken the standard treatment AL, others had taken ASAQ.
They found that 64.4 percent of the patients in the artemether-lumefantrine group died, compared to 50.7 percent of the patients in the artesunate-amodiaquine group.
The study had some limitations, including that records did not contain information about whether the patients completed their regimen of medication or not.
Also, since the pills are taken orally, some severely ill patients may not have been able to ingest them due to vomiting.
Researchers still do not understand what may make ASAQ more effective at saving lives, or if perhaps the standard drug AL is simply more risky, or more prone to causing death.
"Given the particular context of this study, we must remain cautious about drawing broad conclusions," said co-author Iza Ciglenecki.
"To date, however, ASAQ appears to be a promising path towards an effective treatment. Further preclinical and clinical studies to confirm the effect of ASAQ in reducing the Ebola mortality are urgently needed."
More than 11,000 people died during the West African Ebola epidemic, which lasted almost two years.
Source: AFP
US Company Says It Has Shipped All Available Doses of Its Experimental Ebola Drug to West Africa
An American company has confirmed that it has shipped all available doses of its experimental drug, used in treating Ebola infection, to West Africa.
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Suddenly, 100 cases of confirmed Ebola virus were being admitted each week to what had started as a 10-bed isolation unit in a former refugee transit center.
The substitute drug, artesunate-amodiaquine, was prescribed for all patients with suspected Ebola virus disease who were admitted to the treatment center for a period of 12 days, "with no other known systematic changes in care," said the report.
Anti-malaria medicines are routinely given to suspected Ebola patients because the symptoms of the two illnesses -- including fever, headaches and joint pain -- often overlap.
Once the Ebola epidemic finally ebbed, researchers realized they had a significant group of patients -- 381 in all from June to October 2014 -- whose outcomes they could compare and analyze. Some had taken the standard treatment AL, others had taken ASAQ.
They found that 64.4 percent of the patients in the artemether-lumefantrine group died, compared to 50.7 percent of the patients in the artesunate-amodiaquine group.
The study had some limitations, including that records did not contain information about whether the patients completed their regimen of medication or not.
Also, since the pills are taken orally, some severely ill patients may not have been able to ingest them due to vomiting.
Researchers still do not understand what may make ASAQ more effective at saving lives, or if perhaps the standard drug AL is simply more risky, or more prone to causing death.
"Given the particular context of this study, we must remain cautious about drawing broad conclusions," said co-author Iza Ciglenecki.
"To date, however, ASAQ appears to be a promising path towards an effective treatment. Further preclinical and clinical studies to confirm the effect of ASAQ in reducing the Ebola mortality are urgently needed."
More than 11,000 people died during the West African Ebola epidemic, which lasted almost two years.
Source: AFP
Ethics Meeting Over Experimental Ebola Drug Called by WHO
An ethics meet to explore the use of experimental treatment in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was called for by WHO, they said on Wednesday.
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 Experimental Ebola Drug too Early to be Sent to Africa: ObamaUS President Barack Obama claims on Wednesday that it is premature to send experimental drugs for the treatment of Ebola to West Africa, hardest hit area by the deadly outbreak. | Advertisement
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