June 9th, 2009
We all remember the Anthrax-laced letters that killed five people and severely rattled the country post-9/11. Just when you thought there might not be a way to stop this lethal infectious disease along comes beta cyclodextrin, a non toxic sugar compound.
A researcher by the name of Vladimir Karginov at a company called Innovative Biologics is working with beta cyclodextrin and Anthrax. Karginov has designed and synthesized a number of beta-cyclodextrin derivatives and evaluated their ability to inhibit the lethal toxin action of Anthrax. Several compounds displayed anti-toxin activity at low micromolar concentrations in cell-based assays and preliminary toxicity and efficacy studies in rodents produced very promising results. You can read about the research project here.
Anthrax is a highly lethal and infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, a bacteria that forms spores, or dormant cells, which can come to life under the right temperature, nutrients and other conditions to allow growth. Anthrax occurs in humans after exposure to an infected animal or infected animal tissue or when anthrax spores are used as a bioterrorist weapon. There are some effective vaccines against anthrax, and some forms of the disease respond well to antibiotic treatment shortly after exposure. But there is need for new, safe and effective treatments approved by the FDA to supplement traditional intravenous and oral antibiotic therapy such ciprofloxacin (cipro), doxycycline or vancomycin.
I have now reported on beta cyclodextrins ability to kill the HIV AIDS virus and now the deadly Anthrax bacterium. This same non toxic sugar compound is also being used to treat my 5 year old identical twins who have a fatal cholesterol metabolism disorder called Niemann Pick Type C, or the “childhood Alzheimer’s.”
What other lethal bacterias and viruses does this non toxic cyclodextrin compound kill? What does the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Department of Health and Human Services know about cyclodextrin and are they studying it?
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