Addressing Therapeutic Options for Ebola Virus Infection in Current and Future Outbreaks
Résumé
Ebola virus can cause severe hemorrhagic disease with high fatality rates. Currently, no specific therapeutic or vaccine has been approved for treatment and prevention of Ebola infection of humans. Although the number of Ebola cases has fallen in the last few weeks, multiple outbreaks of Ebola virus infection and the likelihood of future exposure highlight the need for development and rapid evaluation of pre- and post-exposure treatments. In this manuscript we briefly review the existing and future options for anti-Ebola therapy, based on the data coming from rare clinical reports, studies on animals and results from in vitro models. We also project the mechanistic hypotheses of several potential drugs including small molecule-based drugs against Ebola virus, which are under development and being tested in animal models or in vitro using various cell types. This paper discusses strategies towards identifying and testing anti-Ebola properties of known and medically approved drugs, especially those that can limit pathologic inflammatory response in Ebola patients and thereby provide protection from mortality. We have underlined the importance of developing combinational therapy for the better treatment outcome of Ebola patients.