Combining antiviral drugs and antibody therapy could treat seasonal flu
Written By : Isra Zaman
Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Published On 2022-08-17 04:00 GMT | Update On 2024-02-15 13:32 GMT
Researchers at McMaster University have found a class of well-known antiviral drugs could be part of a one-two punch to treat seasonal influenza and prevent a flu pandemic when used in combination with antibody therapies.Antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu have been prescribed for decades to treat flu symptoms in people at risk for serious complications.Researchers found when these medications...
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Researchers at McMaster University have found a class of well-known antiviral drugs could be part of a one-two punch to treat seasonal influenza and prevent a flu pandemic when used in combination with antibody therapies.
Antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu have been prescribed for decades to treat flu symptoms in people at risk for serious complications.
Researchers found when these medications were used with antibody therapy, the combination was more effective than either approach alone: the antibodies were significantly more efficient at killing infected cells and the drugs were more potent.
The findings, published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, could inform new approaches to protecting high-risk groups, including the elderly and children during an emerging influenza pandemic, the researchers say.
The team has studied broadly neutralizing antibodies-which fend off a wide range of respiratory viruses-for over 10 years. They are examining how these antibodies could be tapped to protect against all strains of flu, in their urgent pursuit of a universal flu vaccine.
"Antibody therapies were used to treat COVID-19, and in theory they could be used to treat flu as a new therapeutic approach," says Matthew Miller, a lead author of the study.
For the study, which was conducted on mice, researchers combined antibodies with antiviral drugs. They found the drugs improved the virus-fighting properties of the antibodies, which work by binding to the surface of an infected cell then triggering our immune system to kill the cell before the virus can spread.
Researchers also report using a combination therapy may extend the life of current antiviral drugs because viruses are less likely to become resistant to such drugs when delivered in conjunction with an antibody therapy.
Reference:
Ali Zhang,Matthew Miller et. al,Broadly-neutralizing antibodies that bind to influenza hemagglutinin stalk domain enhance effectiveness of neuraminidase inhibitors via Fc-mediated effector functions, Cell Reports Medicine,10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100718,16-Aug-2022
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