Arthritis Drug Might Prove Effective In Fighting The Flu

ScienceDaily (May 26, 2009)
Abatacept, an approved drug for treating rheumatoid arthritis reduces severe illness and death in mice exposed to influenza A virus. Researchers found that treating the mice with Abatacept minimized tissue damage caused by the immune response, but still enabled the body to fight the virus. Experiments showed that the treatment with Abatacept significantly improved survival for mice infected with a lethal dose of influenza virus. The survival rate for the treated mice was 80 percent, compared to 50 percent for the mice that weren't treated.

The success of this drug is by not interrupting the immune system's early, rapid attack in the lungs which helps to kill the virus, but preventing the "memory" T cells from overreacting. The tissue damage caused by an overactive immune response is thought to be the leading cause of death from pandemic strains of flu, such as the avian flu and the 1918 Spanish flu. It is also thought to be true of the early cases of H1N1 "swine" flu.

The advantage of immunotherapy with a drug such as Abatacept is it’s effectiveness against different strains of the virus. This is due to the target of the drug being the immune system, not the virus itself. More testing still needs to be completed but Abatacept has the potential to be the next new therapy in fighting influenza virus.

Article - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090526114803.htm