An experimental cancer drug may be able to block people from being infected by the coronavirus, according to a team of researchers from the University of Louisville in Kentucky. The drug is a synthetic DNA piece that is called aptamer that binds a protein called nucleolin, replicating the disease and infecting other cells.
What is an aptamer?
Previous studies of the drug showed that aptamer prevents different types of cancer from taking over the nucleolin, replicating the disease and infecting other cells in the body. The team of researchers stated that the technology could be used to prevent the coronavirus from replicating itself and spreading throughout the body.
A team led by Dr. Paul Bates, a professor of medicine at the University of Louisville, discovered aptamer. Dr. Bates said that like many scientists, as soon as she heard about the coronavirus, she wanted to help and she started to think about how her area of research might intersect with coronavirus research efforts.
Dr. Bates also plants to work at the University Louisville's Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, one of only 12 regional and two national biocontainment labs in the US. The lab has Biosafety Level 3 facilities that protect researchers from being exposed to the pathogens that they are studying and examining.
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Dr. Bates also hopes that her team receives the stamp of approval from the US Food and Drug Administration or FDA in order for them to begin trials. Since the vaccine for the virus could take between 12 to 18 months before it arrives on the market, she says that treatments could help slow the spread.
The doctor added that coronavirus patients can take the drug early to stop the virus from spreading in their bodies and that would stop them hopefully from getting seriously ill from this but also for people who have already gotten very ill. There is some evidence that if the amount of virus in the body can be reduced, the patients might be able to benefit them.
Coronavirus rate in America
In the US, there are 929,028 total cases of coronavirus, with 52,371 deaths and 110,504 recovered cases. Despite the high death toll number, some states chose to reopen businesses. Salons and spas reopen in Georgia and Oklahoma and in Alaska, restrictions on restaurants were lifted.
Customers who will visit the newly reopened businesses in Oklahoma, Georgia, and Alaska will be expected to continue following social distancing measures. However, some cities and areas have decided to keep their lockdowns in place.
In Georgia, spas, hair, bowling alleys, nail salons, tattoo parlors, and other personal care businesses will be allowed to resume operations. On April 20, dine-in restaurants and theaters were allowed to reopen.
President Donald Trump faced criticism after suggesting that injecting household disinfectant into patients could be beneficial, as well as suggesting taking disinfectants to fight the virus. His remarks have been condemned as extremely dangerous by doctors and manufacturers as Lysol released a statement warning the public about drinking disinfectants.
Disinfectants are dangerous substances and they can be poisonous if ingested, and even external exposure can be dangerous to the skin, eyes, and respiratory system.
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