ROME - a blow to pharmaceutical manufacturers of Tamiflu dated December 3, 2009 has been inflicted by the University of Hokkaido, northern Japan, where a group of researchers has just discovered a mixture of substances, which combined, have the capacity to eradicate the H1N1 virus. The experiments so far conducted only on animals have shown the rise in survival rates in patients suffering from influenza A. THE SUBSTANCE would be composed of culture fluids derived from Aureobasidium strains that contain beta-glucans, polysaccharides, and a special lactic acid. This would be more effective than drugs currently used against viruses such as Tamiflu and Relenza. The scientific team led by Prof. Tadaaki Miyazaki, a molecular biologist at the University of Hokkaido, has divided the mice into two groups, all infected by the same H1N1 virus.
One group was treated with Tamiflu, and the second group with the substance created in the laboratory. The group treated with the substance created in the laboratory have shown a high survival rate higher than the group of mice treated with Tamiflu, instead, made a sudden loss of weight resulting in death. So the novelty is that this combination would have detected a high capacity - still not fully explained - to strengthen the immune system of the body contrary to the common flu drugs which are confined to the spread of the virus.
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