What is it about?
Our group has been studying new rabies treatments. We have found that a molecule called bufotenine is able to prevent the virus infection in cells, in the lab. We then studied whether this molecule would be toxic for the animal (it was not to the cells, at the 'therapeutic' dose). Being safe to non-infected animal is the first step towards studying the possible therapeutic effects of this molecule.
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Why is it important?
Since rabies, once established, is an incurable disease, every effort towards the development of new drugs is very important.
Perspectives
This molecule might help the already successful vaccine-based therapy, with the advantages of being a 'drug' and not an 'immunological' based therapy. Further studies are still necessary,,though.
Daniel Pimenta
Instituto Butantan
The next step of this promising work is to study the efficacy of the bufotenine in mice with the rabies virus, to get a new prototype molecule, to reach a cure for this disease.
Juliana Mozer Sciani
Universidade Sao Francisco
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Biological Effects and Biodistribution of Bufotenine on Mice, BioMed Research International, May 2018, Hindawi Publishing Corporation,
DOI: 10.1155/2018/1032638.
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