With river blindness veterinary medicine should help

Veterinary medicine against human river blindness

12/10/2014

People suffering from river blindness (onchocerciasis) will in future be helped by a veterinary medicine. Worldwide, more than 20 million people are affected by the worm disease that is transmitted by blackflies. Many of them are among the poorest of the poor in Africa.

Over 20 million people affected worldwide
River blindness (onchocerciasis) affects more than 20 million people worldwide. Especially in the tropical regions of Africa and America, the worm disease is widespread. It is transmitted by blood-sucking blackflies. According to a news agency dpa news agency, the drugs for neglected diseases (DNDI) and the pharmaceutical company Bayer on Tuesday in Berlin, a cooperation agreement on the development of a drug that is supposed to cure the disease completely.

Up to 50 centimeters long worms grow in the body
To do this, the researchers want to develop a remedy that the company is already producing for the treatment of dogs and cats. The University of Bonn is also involved in the research. River blindness occurs mainly in Africa. According to the data, those affected are among the poorest of the poor, many of whom live in hard-to-reach areas. In people who develop river blindness, symptoms do not appear immediately, but only after about six to twelve months. In the process, worms grow up in the body that can grow up to 50 centimeters long and spread tiny thread worms, so-called microfilariae, for the duration of their lives - up to 17 years.

Symptoms only appear after months
The symptoms that occur during the illness are caused on the one hand by the microfilariae, but also by the reaction of the body's own defense system to the invasion of these parasites. Symptoms include an itchy rash, lymphadenopathy, lumps under the skin, thickening of the skin, inflammation of the veins, and eye problems such as eye irritation or conjunctivitis. The eye can be damaged so much that it leads to blindness.

Development of the remedy will take years
It is said that the new drug should not only fight the nematode worms, but also kill the adult worms. „If that works, it would be fantastic“, said Ulrike Loos, spokeswoman for the Christoffel Blindenmission to the dpa. The active ingredients that would have been used would have successfully destroyed the nematodes, but without killing the adult worm. Affected persons therefore had to be treated again and again for years. „We expect the development to take up to nine years“, explained DNDI managing director Bernard Pécoul.

Drug should be delivered at cost price
Clinical trials are planned for the new compound, which is expected to be easy to use. They are expected to take place in the Congo, where some 40% of the population suffer from river blindness according to DNDI. DNDI claims to be a non-profit organization focused on drug research against the most neglected diseases. The costs for the development of the drug are borne by DNDI (30 to 40 million euros) and Bayer HealthCare (around 5 million euros for research plus costs for approval). It is said that Bayer will later, in cooperation with the governments of the affected developing countries, offer the drug virtually at cost price. Originally, the active ingredient emodepside by the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas. Bayer had acquired the rights to veterinary medicine, but it is now allowed to use it for the new remedy. (Ad)