Breakthroughs in Ebola and Marburg treatment

It looks as though there are several new promising treatments for Ebola and Marburg viruses. Apparently the leukemia medications
Gleevec and Tasigna prevented the virus from replicating in a colony of kidney cells in the lab. Also, antibodies to the viruses taken from monkeys can keep other monkeys from getting seriously sick if administered within two days of exposure. Finally, multiple doses of siRNA have prevented monkeys from dying of the viruses as well.

All of these treatments are promising in terms of immediate applications and future research, though the article mentions that the (thankfully) rare nature of these diseases means that testing them in real situations will be difficult.


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/health/advances-suggest-possible-cures-for-ebola-and-marburg-virus.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=virus&st=cse#

--Sarah Kaewert