About Careers MedBlog Contact us
Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Advertisement

Early Results from Ebola Drug Trial Shows Limited Promise

by Himabindu Venkatakrishnan on February 24, 2015 at 5:16 PM
Font : A-A+

 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, as reported on Monday.

The antiviral treatment is being developed by the Japanese company Toyama Chemical, and has been shown safe and effective against some other viruses including influenza, West Nile and yellow fever.

Advertisement

An ongoing clinical trial in Guinea is testing the drug's use in patients with the Ebola virus, which causes severe vomiting, diarrhea and sometimes fatal bleeding.

Results from only 80 people are available so far, but they show that among those who received the drug early in their illness, 15 percent died of Ebola.
Advertisement

However, among those who received it when their viral load was high, 93 percent died, according to preliminary results presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle, Washington.

There are no drugs on the market to treat Ebola, which has ravaged West Africa and killed 9,177 of the nearly 23,000 people infected since late 2013.

The typical death rate from Ebola in the latest outbreak has ranged from 53 to 60 percent, according to the World Health Organization.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) is among those helping to carry out the trial.

"MSF is pleased to see that favipiravir seems to have a positive effect for certain patients," said the group's medical director Bertrand Draguez.

"But it also seems that the most vulnerable patients, the people that are most likely to die from the disease, don't benefit at all from favipiravir," he added, cautioning that the drug should not yet be used outside trials.

The trial is being led by INSERM, the French Institute of Health and Medical Research, and is being funded by the European Commission.

Source: AFP
Advertisement

Advertisement

Recommended Reading

Latest Research News

Impact of Age-Related Methylation Changes on Human Sperm Epigenome
Link between advanced paternal age and higher risks for reproductive and offspring medical problems has been discovered.
Can Gene Astrology Predict Future Health Problems?
Can gene astrology predict disease risk? Yes, your genes can determine your future health and disease risk.
Tackling Football at Young Age: A Risk for Brain Decline Later
Injury to the white matter explains why football players are at an increased risk for cognitive and behavioral problems later in life.
Frozen Frontier: Humans Leave a Unique Microbial Mark on Mount Everest
Located at the South Col, the rocky area between Mount Everest and Lhotse serves as the final campsite for climbers as well as a frozen legacy of hardy microbes.
How Does Protein Synthesis in Diarrhea Causing Parasite Work?
The new finding is found to be valuable for screening specific medications and treatment against Giardia and other protozoan parasites.
View All
open close
CONSULT ONLINE WITH A DOCTOR

×

Early Results from Ebola Drug Trial Shows Limited Promise Personalised Printable Document (PDF)

Please complete this form and we'll send you a personalised information that is requested

You may use this for your own reference or forward it to your friends.

Please use the information prudently. If you are not a medical doctor please remember to consult your healthcare provider as this information is not a substitute for professional advice.

Name *

Email Address *

Country *

Areas of Interests