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Ebola Vaccine May Soon Become a Reality

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An experimental Ebola vaccine has been found to be safe for humans, according to the results of an early clinical trial developed at the Canadian National Microbiology Laboratory of the Public Health Agency of Canada. The researchers also found that high antibodies were present in participants six months after immunisation, indicating its potential to protect people from the deadly virus. This VSV (vesicular stomatitis virus)-Ebola vaccine brings new hope.

“The results of this trial were positive and very promising,” said May ElSherif from the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology. “All three dose levels of the VSV Ebola vaccine were well-tolerated by participants, and no safety concerns were identified,” added ElSherif. The study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

The trial involved 40 healthy people aged 18 to 65 years and looked at the safety of the vaccine and the lowest dose required for an immune response after injection with one of three doses. Out of the 40 people, 30 participants received the vaccine and 10 received placebo injections. The researchers found that adverse events were mild to moderate, with only three severe reactions, including headache, diarrhea and fatigue, which were completely resolved. This study shows the importance of further investigation, according to the researchers.

There have been some recent clusters of Ebola cases in Africa and more are expected as survivors may still spread the virus to uninfected people. The research team conducted the clinical trial “as part of a coordinated, international effort to expeditiously evaluate candidate EVD (Ebola virus disease) vaccines and make them available to control the epidemic,” said ElSherif.

An upcoming study at two sites in Africa, as well as in Montréal and Ottawa in Canada, will test the safety and protection levels of the VSV-Ebola vaccine in HIV-infected adults and adolescents. The vaccine was earlier found to be effective in preventing EVD in contacts of recently confirmed cases in a major trial.

Source: http://food.ndtv.com/health/ebola-vaccine-may-soon-become-a-reality-1714184

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Experimental obesity drug may prevent kidney stones

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Tokyo: Japanese scientists have found that an experimental obesity drug can potentially prevent the formation of kidney stones in mice, a finding that paves the way to develop medications to prevent the condition in at-risk individuals.

The findings showed that mice who were administered 1mg/kg of the beta3- agonist CL316243 for 12 days, showed a 17 percent decrease in the number of kidney stones than those who were not given the drug.

“This is an experimental work for now. But I believe that this may open the way to the development of the new drugs which can stop the development of kidney stones in at-risk people,” said lead researcher Teruaki Sugino from the Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Japan.

“So far we have only tested this on mice, but in mice it seems to work.

“We were able to analyse the biochemical differences between the control and experimental group, and discovered that the beta3-agonist reduced the expression of adipocytokine molecules, which are associated with inflammation,” Sugino added.

Beta3-agonists are known to cause white fat cells — found in excess in overweight and obese persons — into beige fat cells, which burn extra calories. This is why the molecules are also being considered for anti-obesity uses.

These beige cells consume free fatty acids, which cause inflammation in the kidneys leading to kidney stones.

This means that beta3-agonists have the potential to prevent not only obesity but also kidney stones, the researchers explained.

The findings were presented at the European Association of Urology Conference in Copenhagen.

Currently, potassium-sodium citrate drugs are used to restrict the development of kidney stones, but some people cannot use these drugs because they have to limit their potassium or sodium intake.

Since the drug was administered to mice, it cannot yet be directly applied to humans, the researchers noted.

Source: http://zeenews.india.com/health/experimental-obesity-drug-may-prevent-kidney-stones-2091358

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