A class of drugs used to treat hepatitis and some types of multiple sclerosis may prove to be an effective treatment for Ebola, according to a recent study published in PLOS One.
For the proof-of-concept study, researchers treated nine Ebola patients with the drug interferon beta 1-alpha. Care outcomes among the cohort were compared with 21 controls who received standardized supportive care without the medication. All patients included in the study were treated from March 26, 2015 to June 12, 2015 in Guinea, West Africa.
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After 21 days, approximately 19 percent of the patients who received only supportive care remained alive. After the same time period, 67 percent of the interferon-treated cohort remained alive. Additionally, many symptoms attributable to Ebola like abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea and diarrhea were relieved earlier among patients treated with interferon.
"Despite the limitations of a single arm, non-randomized study, we infer from these data that interferon beta 1-alpha treatment is worth further consideration for the treatment of [the] Ebola virus," said Eleanor Fish, PhD, senior scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and the study's senior author.
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