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Microcephaly: malaria drug may protect babies from Zika virus
Although the Zika virus is a disease that causes milder symptoms than dengue fever and chikungunya fever, it has been considered the most dangerous because of the damage it causes to the brain of babies when contracted during pregnancy. Studies have already shown that the virus has a preference for neural stem cells, which will form the child's brain and nervous system cells.
However, a new study brings good news: the drug chloroquine, already used in treatment of malaria, among other diseases, can protect the brains of the fetuses against infection by Zika virus. The research, carried out in the laboratory by scientists from the Institutes of Biology and Biomedical Sciences of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and the Research Institute, showed that this medicine is able to protect up to 95% of the neurospheres cell phones used to reproduce the developing brain.)
To reach this conclusion, the researchers infected the neurospheres with the Zika virus and then treated them for five days with chloroquine in various concentrations. However, a sample of neurospheres was not treated, precisely to compare the effect of the medication. In the treated groups, there was a reduction of infected cells between 65 and 95%.
The idea is to use the drug in pregnant women to prevent their fetuses from being infected by the Zika virus. The medicine is not contraindicated in pregnancy. However, it is necessary to do the research with humans, to verify if the treatment is really effective and in what quantity the remedy can be used for this purpose.
With information from Jornal Nacional (Rede Globo) and Estadão.
SUS will distribute innovative drug against HIV
The Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday (28) that the SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde) will make available, from 2017, a new antiretroviral drug to treat the HIV virus, dolutegravir. "We are daring to offer the best treatment in the world at the lowest possible price," said Health Minister Ricardo Barros , during the announcement ceremony of the new drug.
How to care for your child's permanent teeth right from the start
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