New 'Cure' for Deadly Influenza Virus: The Flu Gains an Enemy

New research may make flu seasons a thing of the past--or at least help stem the rash of cases. An international group of scientists have discovered a new class of molecular compounds that can kill the influenza virus.

The research is based on the idea that too much of a good thing can be killer. The scientists have advanced previous methods of manipulating an enzyme that is a key component to allowing influenza to replicate and spread. The new compounds that they've created will help lead to a new generation of anti-influenza drugs that the virus' strains can't adapt to and resist--a huge issue with current medicines.

Increasingly, anti-influenza drugs are becoming less effective. Tamiflu in particular is losing its potency against the mutating influenza virus. Since these drugs are a doctor's best weapons against the virus, which includes H1N1, it's crucial to continue developing new versions of the medicines as new versions of the virus appear.

The virus itself is spread when an enzyme, neuraminidase, facilitates influenza's ability to detach from an infected cell's surface. It then uses sialic acid, a sugar, to attach to a healthy cell and invade it. There, it replicates.

Published in the journal Science Express, the findings detail how the scientists used their newly discovered compound to interrupt the neuraminidase, which facilitates influenza's spread. It essentially clogs up neuraminidase and prevents the enzyme from dissolving the sialic acid which keeps the influenza attached to the infected cell. This prevents the influenza from spreading any further.

Why is this compound more effective than previous treatments? It's water-soluble, which allows it to reach the patient's throat where the flu virus is replicating. Researchers hope that these new compounds will buy scientists more time to develop new vaccine for the emerging strains of the flu that are resistant to existing vaccines.