Originally published July 31 2005
Scientists discover new SARS therapy
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Scientists have developed a simple therapy that decreases the death rate of SARS by blocking the enzyme that interferes with body fluid balance.
SARS, or sudden acute respiratory syndrome, spawned an epidemic of illness and fear in 2003, killing nearly 800 worldwide and shutting down stores, airports, schools, factories, and hotels across Asia, the epicenter of the outbreak, for fear that the germs would spread in crowds.
Now researchers working with mice have discovered that the SARS virus, caused by a previously unknown germ in the coronavirus family, interferes with a crucial enzyme pathway that regulates body fluid balance.
By blocking that enzyme system in the lungs, the virus allows liquid to leak into the air sacs, making them inefficient.
''Now we can really understand why SARS was such a killer, compared to other viruses which are relatively harmless," said Josef Penninger, a professor at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Science, the lead author of the new paper.
The research team included scientists from Europe and Asia, and was performed on mice which had been infected with SARS.
In the lab, the researchers found that they could protect their SARS-infected mice from lung failure and subsequent death by giving them large amounts of the enzyme whose function was blocked by the virus.
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