I always find it fascinating when medicine uses some roundabout way of treating a condition. If a problem cannot be solved per-say then routes around the problem always seem to be found. One exciting new example is the use of anti-obesity drugs in the fight against influenza, hepatitis and HIV. According to NBC10.com:
“Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center and Princeton University tried to find exactly how the metabolism turns sugars you eat into those fatty acids. Among other things, “we also found that if you target these increases in fatty acid metabolism using existing anti-obesity and anti-metabolism drugs, you inhibit viral replication,” said author Joshua Munger. They were looking for processes they could stop that would not effect normal functioning of the body.”
This technique is having astounding results in the lab, cutting virus production 100 times over. The idea is that viruses often attempt to speed up the metabolism thus allowing increased reproduction, the anti-obesity drugs slow the metabolism and thus reproduction. Hopefully more information will be out in the near future to see further results of this study, and for once It is truly encouraging to hear some positive news about drugs! It seems that everywhere you turn people are using drugs for unintended purposes, or simply turning to elicit substances. For more information about drug and alcohol treatment, please visit The Right Step today!
