This page is an archive. Its content may no longer be accurate and was last updated on the original publication date. It is intended for reference and as a historical record only. For hep C questions, call Help4Hep BC at 1-888-411-7578.
Researchers in California and Brazil said a drug meant to treat and cure hepatitis C could be as effective in treating people infected with Zika, especially in protecting the fetus of an infected pregnant women.
Researchers associated with the University of California San Diego and colleagues in Brazil found that in cellular and mice trials, the anti-viral medication Sofosbuvir, brand name Sovaldi, was effective in repairing cells damaged by Zika and blocking the transmission of the virus to the fetus of a pregnant mouse.
“This suggests that one, the drug was well-tolerated by the Zika-infected pregnant mice and two, more importantly, that it was able to arrest Zika replication in vivo and stop transmission from mother to fetus,” senior author Dr. Alysson Muotri, a professor in the U.C. San Diego School of Medicine departments of Pediatrics and Cellular and Molecular Medicine, said in a statement.
Their findings were published this week in the journal Nature.
Read more…https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jan/25/researchers-find-hepatitis-c-drug-effective-treati/