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Combination therapy cures tick-borne illness in mice
Yale News
June 6th 2016
http://news.yale.edu/2016/06/06/combination-therapy-cures-tick-borne-illness-mice
Yale News
June 6th 2016
http://news.yale.edu/2016/06/06/combination-therapy-cures-tick-borne-illness-mice
A novel combination therapy cures an emerging infectious disease, babesiosis, which is transmitted by the same ticks that transmit the agents of Lyme disease, said Yale researchers. This “radical” therapy not only clears the infection but also prevents the recurrence that often occurs with existing treatments.
The study was published online June 6 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Babesiosis (bab-e-see-oh-sis) is caused by the B. microti parasite, which is most often transmitted through tick bites. It is more common in the Northeast and northern Midwestern states, and likely is on the rise as infected ticks expand geographically. Infected individuals can be asymptomatic, or develop symptoms that range from mild and flu-like to severe and life threatening. The parasite can develop resistance to existing therapies, leading to relapses after treatment.
For their study, the Yale-led team first tested in mice with diminished immune systems four drugs that are currently used in the form of two combinations to treat human babesiosis. Only one of those drugs, atovaquone, was effective in attacking a target enzyme that, when mutated, allows the parasite to develop resistance. Using the mouse model, the team observed efficacy with a fifth drug (ELQ) that involves a similar mechanism of action as atovaquone but at a different enzyme target site. They decided to test the two drugs in combination.
The researchers found that the combination of atovaquone and ELQ-334, at low doses, cleared the infection and prevented recurrence up to 122 days after treatment.