Commonly Used Antibiotic Prevent Brain Infections Brought By Zika Virus

The Zika virus outbreak in 2015 caused many children to be born with brain injuries known as microcephaly. At that time, there was no cure yet for the condition so several newborn babies have suffered. But recently, the National Institutes of Health found that a common antibiotic can effectively prevent brain injuries brought by the Zika virus.

According to Science Daily, researchers from NIH tried various advanced drug screening techniques on 10,000 samples in search of a cure. They discovered that the commonly used antibiotic methacycline effectively prevented brain infections and reduced neurological problems.

Methacycline was originally developed against Alzheimer's disease and inflammation to fight infections. Dr. Avindra Nath, a senior investigator at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in NIH, said that they hope this latest discovery would prepare the world for future outbreaks.

Zika Outbreak in 2015

According to NIH, the Zika virus outbreak in South America began in February 2015. Three months later, Brazil's Ministry of Health confirmed the outbreak in the northeastern part of the country and has since spread to the areas.

The Pan American Health Organization reported that by January 17, 2016, the virus had spread through the 18 countries of the continent or across the territories in the Americas.

Zika virus is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which can infect pregnant women which causes fetal microcephaly, a condition wherein the head of the baby is significantly smaller than the typical newborn babies. Other neurological injuries also include encephalitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and myelitis.

Scientists have tried for years to look for a cure but to no avail. They experimented on drugs that can prevent the virus from reproducing by blocking the activity of NS2B-NS3 Zika virus protease that the virus uses to inject in cells and cause infections.

Dr. Rachel Abrams, an organic chemist, said "Proteases act like scissors. Blocking protease activity is an effective strategy for counteracting many viruses."

In that case, scientists tried to look for potential drugs that could prevent the NS2B-NS3 Zika virus protease from snipping Zika virus polyprotein in which all of it are critical for creating new viral pieces.

But scientists at NIH recently found the solution for preventing brain infections and neurological disorders caused by the Zika virus.

Methacycline vs NS2B-NS3 Zika Virus Protease

Scientists believe that newborn babies are more susceptible to the Zika virus because it is fond of attacking stem cells in the brain. The study revealed that the drugs MK-591, an anti-inflammatory drug, JNJ-404, a failed anti-Alzheimer's drug, and methacycline reduced Zika infections.

But the researchers focused their attention on methacycline because it is a tetracycline antibiotic approved by the FDA to cross the placenta of pregnant women. They found that it can effectively reduce neurodevelopmental problems caused by the Zika virus. Methacycline

Dr. Abrams said that given this antibiotic is widely used, they hope that they could rapidly test it to test its potential in clinical trials, Science Daily reported.

"These results suggest that tetracycline-based antibiotics may at least be effective at preventing the neurological problems associated with Zika virus infections," said Dr. Abrams on finding that methacycline is effective in preventing brain injuries.