The purified form of the COAM (Chlorite oxidized oxyamylose) molecule, a polysaccharide derivative, fights fast-acting viruses such as: Ebola, Lassa, Marburg and others – informs EurekAlert. COAM mobilizes white blood cells to act.
Scientists from the Laboratory of Immunobiology at the Rega Institute for Medical Research and the University of Leuven in Belgium conducted their experiment on mice they infected with a virus that kills these rodents in less than a week.
The mice were divided into two groups. In the group administered crude COAM, nearly half of the mice survived. The other was treated with a purified version of the compound. In this case, more than 90 percent protection was achieved.
This is an exciting discovery because it gives us a real chance to fight the world’s most virulent viruses, says Dr. John Wherry, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, in which an article on the subject was published.
The discovered compound can be obtained from commercially available sugar compounds. It works by concentrating on the initial stage of the infection by accelerating the immune response of white blood cells.
We have modified and purified a safe drug, obtained from natural sources, and discovered how it can protect against lethal viral infections, explains Dr. Ghislain Opdenakker, the researcher involved in the experiment, on the team’s achievement. (PAP)