日前,科研人员对一批猴子进行了埃博拉病毒药物实验,实验结果非常喜人。据悉,该种药物是在猴子感染埃博拉病毒72小时后注射进去的,它们让猴子保住了性命。这也预示着它将很有可能对人类也有效果。现在,这种药物正被送往塞拉利昂进行人体测试。上周,该地区只出现了9起埃博拉病毒感染病例。虽然埃博拉病毒现在西非的传播速度已经较之以前下降了许多,但对于生活在那里的人们来说,这场战斗远还没有结束。 据统计,自埃博拉病毒爆发之后,感染总人数达到了25,900,死亡人数10,700。这也就是科研人员要研发出预防病毒感染疫苗以及治疗药物显得那么重要的原因所在--它仍旧关系着人们的生与死。 实验中,科研人员首先向6只恒河猴体内注射足够致死剂量的埃博拉病毒。等到72个小时后,他们向其中3只猴子体内静脉注射一种被称为TKM-Ebola的药物。9天之后,注射了TKM-Ebola的猴子活了下来,另外一组则不幸死去。 获悉,TKM-Ebola一开始是为对抗扎伊尔基奎特(非西非地区)那里的埃博拉病毒而研发。德州大学埃博拉病毒研究者、该测试项目组成员Thomas Geisbert称,他们已经于去年在美国向大量的埃博拉病患注射了这种药物,并且所有人都活了下来,不过由于他们注射了多种药物,所以研究人员也没法确定就一定是TKM-Ebola起到的作用。 TKM通过阻止人体生成特定埃博拉蛋白质这种方法进行治疗。Geisbert介绍称,只要人体不产生病毒蛋白质,那么它就没法对人体构成威胁。另外,埃博拉病毒产生的其中一种蛋白质将会干扰人体的免疫系统,也就是说,TKM可以间接地帮助受感染猴子拥有对抗埃博拉病毒的能力。 虽然这种药物看起来非常具有前景,但由于它需要静脉注射,所以推行起来要比直接服用的药物困难很多。另外,它是否对人体也有治疗效果也还有待考证。
An experimental drug has cured monkeys infected with the Ebola virus, US-based scientists have said. The treatment, known as TKM-Ebola-Guinea, targets the Makona strain of the virus, which caused the current deadly outbreak in West Africa. All three monkeys receiving the treatment were healthy when the trial ended after 28 days; three untreated monkeys died within nine days. Scientists cautioned that the drug's efficacy has not been proven in humans. At present, there are no treatments or vaccines for Ebola that have been proven to work in humans. University of Texas scientist Thomas Geisbert, who was the senior author of the study published in the journal Nature, said: "This is the first study to show post-exposure protection... against the new Makona outbreak strain of Ebola-Zaire virus." Results from human trials with the drug are expected in the second half of this year. Gene blockingMr Geisbert said the drug, produced by Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, could be adapted to target any strain of Ebola and could be manufactured in as little as eight weeks. It works by blocking particular genes, which stops the virus replicating. The two-month production time compares with the several months needed to make ZMapp - another experimental drug, which cured monkeys with a different strain of Ebola than the one in the current outbreak. Since March 2014, more than 10,602 people have been reported as having died from the disease in six countries - Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the US and Mali. The total number of reported cases is more than 25,556. It has been the deadliest occurrence of Ebola since its discovery in 1976. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-32424145
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