- They create a vaccine against the multiple sclerosis virus and kissing disease.
- This fact makes a possible dose to help curb the virus that is associated with disorders such as multiple sclerosis and some types of cancer.
- The drug managed to induce an immune response against the virus and generate protective antibodies.
Researchers from the pharmaceutical company Sanofi have developed a experimental vaccine against Epstein-Barr. A virus that infects more than 95% of the world’s population, causes mononucleosis and is associated with both some types of cancer and multiple sclerosis.
In a study with animals, the drug managed to induce an immune response against the virus and generate protective antibodies. those results, that collects the magazine Science Translational Medicineopen the door to being able to develop what could be the first effective vaccine in humans to prevent infection by this virus and the diseases it causes.
The Epstein-Barr virus
Discovered in the 1960s, the Epstein–Barr virus It is one of the most common of the human species. It infects a type of defense cells, B lymphocytes, and also epithelial cells.
It is transmitted mainly through saliva and, in addition to mononucleosis, the so-called ‘kissing disease’, of which it is the direct trigger, it is also associated with some types of cancer, such as stomach cancer, and lymphomas such as those of Hodgkin and Burkitt, among others. In this sense, it is estimated that it is behind more than 200,000 new cases of cancer in the world each year, resulting in 140,000 deaths.
ABOUT THE NEW VACCINE
The vaccine contains nanoparticles, which “elicited immune responses in mice, ferrets, and nonhuman primates”as reported by the specialized media.
“Passive transfer of serum from vaccinated mice to humanized mice also had protection against the virus, supporting further development of these bivalent nanoparticle vaccines,” the report stated.
It should be noted that currently, despite the virus prevalence and its impact on health, there are no vaccines or treatments to combat it.
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