A new drug that dampens the body's overzealous immune response
to the deadliest strain of flu has shown good results in mice.
The approach could hold promise for treating a range respiratory
diseases in humans, including the deadly SARS virus, say UK
scientists. Respiratory viruses like influenza and respiratory
syncytial virus can be fatal, and are the third leading cause of
death in babies. It is believed that much of the damage they
cause results from the body's immune system going into
overdrive. Tracy Hussell and colleagues at Imperial College
London tested the drug on mice infected with influenza A, a
strain of which killed 20 million people in 1918. They found it
stopped the serious weight loss seen and cut inflammation in the
lungs by about two-thirds. "We can reduce it by two-thirds and
[the immune system] still clears the virus, so you don't get the
clinical symptoms," Hussell told New Scientist. John Oxford, a
virologist and influenza expert at Queen Mary, University of
London is excited by the res