Posted on 09/05/2009 10:36:27 PM PDT by neverdem
An unlicensed intravenous form of the antiviral drug Relenza saved the life of a woman with a severe illness resulting from infection by the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus, British doctors reported today in the journal Lancet. Dr. Michael Kidd and Dr. Mervyn Singer of the University College London Hospitals were treating the virus, commonly known as swine flu, in a 22-year-old woman who had contracted it after undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease.
The woman had increasing shortness of breath, build-up of fluid in both lungs and was progressively deteriorating. Physicians had given her Tamiflu and Relenza, which is normally given in an inhalable form. Neither was effective, and on the 16th day of her stay in the intensive care unit, the doctors decided to try an experimental form of Relenza that is given intravenously. Permission for the experiment was given by the hospital and the woman's relatives, and the drug was supplied by the manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline. Her condition improved within 48 hours and she was discharged from the ICU on the 24th day. The doctors speculated that neither the inhaled Relenza nor the oral Tamiflu were reaching the infection deep in her lungs...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
FReebie if you are registered.
Mandatory ones?
beer, the wd-40 of domestic policy.
LOL!
Great!
Great news!
Two NSAIDs, celecoxib aka Celebrex, and mesalazine, an aspirin derivative, show promise.
Zanamivir alone reduced viral load but not inflammation and mortality. The survival benefits of adding celecoxib and mesalazine to zanamivir could be caused by their synergistic effects in reducing cytokine dysfunction and preventing apoptosis.
OK, the doctors used heroic measures to save the life of a woman who already was immunocompromised and at risk. That doesn’t mean the same therapy will be successful the next time.
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