As quoted from a newspaper in Singapore, "Today (30th May 2007)"
""WASHINGTON ? Blood donated by four survivors of bird flu seems to harbour a potent protection against the deadly virus. Researchers in Switzerland have successfully immunised mice against the H5N1 strain of bird flu using human antibodies taken from Vietnamese survivors of the deadly virus, according to a study released yesterday. The antibodies, reproduced at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, also vastly enhanced the survival rate of infected animals, pointing the way to a treatment for people stricken with the often lethal disease, said Dr Antonio Lanzavecchia, co-author of the study and director of the institute?s immune regulation laboratory. ?We are very confident this data can be reproduced in humans,? he told AFP, saying the antibodies ?provided immediate, short-term immunity? in mice. In the experiments, mice were injected with antibodies generated from the blood of avian flu survivors. The mice were then exposed to the same strains that proved deadly in humans. This provided virtually complete protection, according to the study, published in the journal, PLoS Medicine.
As important, said Dr Lanzavecchia, was the efficacy of the antibodies in neutralising the virus in mice that had been infected up to 72 hours earlier. The antibodies significantly reduced the amount of virus found in the lungs ? by a factor of 10 to 100 ? and almost completely stopped the virus from reaching the brain or the spleen. By contrast, none of the untreated mice in a control group survived. The development of a vaccine against a possible global H5N1 pandemic has been a major focus of scientists in the field. But little attention has been devoted to antibodies, which act differently, Dr Lanzavecchia said. A vaccine induces a long-term or permanent immune response but takes weeks or months to take effect. Vaccines are also useless once the disease has struck.
Antibodies, however, work immediately, and are relatively easy to make on an industrial scale. But the protection is likely to last only months, he explained. This could still be critical in saving the lives of the infected, who typically seek medical help only days after flu-like symptoms appear. Antibody treatment could also immunise frontline nurses and doctors during a possible pandemic. Regulators in the United States and Europe have authorised a ?fast track? approval process for an antibody-based drug, Dr Lanzavecchia said.
If a treatment shows the same results in two animal models, including one on primates, and passes a safety analysis, it then goes to market. This process takes between three and four years""
""WASHINGTON ? Blood donated by four survivors of bird flu seems to harbour a potent protection against the deadly virus. Researchers in Switzerland have successfully immunised mice against the H5N1 strain of bird flu using human antibodies taken from Vietnamese survivors of the deadly virus, according to a study released yesterday. The antibodies, reproduced at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, also vastly enhanced the survival rate of infected animals, pointing the way to a treatment for people stricken with the often lethal disease, said Dr Antonio Lanzavecchia, co-author of the study and director of the institute?s immune regulation laboratory. ?We are very confident this data can be reproduced in humans,? he told AFP, saying the antibodies ?provided immediate, short-term immunity? in mice. In the experiments, mice were injected with antibodies generated from the blood of avian flu survivors. The mice were then exposed to the same strains that proved deadly in humans. This provided virtually complete protection, according to the study, published in the journal, PLoS Medicine.
As important, said Dr Lanzavecchia, was the efficacy of the antibodies in neutralising the virus in mice that had been infected up to 72 hours earlier. The antibodies significantly reduced the amount of virus found in the lungs ? by a factor of 10 to 100 ? and almost completely stopped the virus from reaching the brain or the spleen. By contrast, none of the untreated mice in a control group survived. The development of a vaccine against a possible global H5N1 pandemic has been a major focus of scientists in the field. But little attention has been devoted to antibodies, which act differently, Dr Lanzavecchia said. A vaccine induces a long-term or permanent immune response but takes weeks or months to take effect. Vaccines are also useless once the disease has struck.
Antibodies, however, work immediately, and are relatively easy to make on an industrial scale. But the protection is likely to last only months, he explained. This could still be critical in saving the lives of the infected, who typically seek medical help only days after flu-like symptoms appear. Antibody treatment could also immunise frontline nurses and doctors during a possible pandemic. Regulators in the United States and Europe have authorised a ?fast track? approval process for an antibody-based drug, Dr Lanzavecchia said.
If a treatment shows the same results in two animal models, including one on primates, and passes a safety analysis, it then goes to market. This process takes between three and four years""
