A survey conducted by Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), which can collaborate in identification and in treatment of more cases severe dengue fever is progressing in the educational institution.
On February 29, Brazil reached the mark of 1 million cases of the disease registered since the beginning of the year. The data, released by Ministry of Health still include 214 deaths It is 687 cases under investigation .
The research, which began in 2015 and was published in the international journal eLife in 2022, gained prominence when revealing that the protein Annexin A1 In addition to playing an important role in identifying the severity of dengue, it also represents a “brake” for the inflammation triggered by arbovirus.
According to the study, in more severe cases, protein levels are lower. Furthermore, tests carried out on mice showed that animals that received an active portion of Annexin A1 developed milder forms of the disease.
The new survey responses
A CNN associate professor Vívian Vasconcelos Costa, who is part of the Morphology Department of the Institute of Biological Sciences (ICB), explains about the new stage of the study, also led by professors Mauro Martins Teixeira, from the Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, and Pedro Pires Guimarães , from the Department of Biophysics and Physiology.
“We seek to build therapeutic formulations containing the active portion of Annexin A1 that we identified in initial research, aiming to reduce the administered dose and increase bioavailability and effect on the host. These studies will still be carried out in animal models”, he says.
The challenges of the new stage
At the moment, according to the specialist, the challenges are in identifying the best formulation and moving towards production in greater quantity and with adequate quality (productions using good laboratory practices) to continue with new tests.
“This involves obtaining new resources and also new partnerships (companies interested in producing the product)”, says Vivian.
“All pre-clinical (the phase we are in) and clinical research requires a lot of resources that will allow the payment of specialized labor (which involves specialized technicians and students), infrastructure maintenance, purchase of inputs and equipment”, he concludes.
Source: CNN Brasil
I am an experienced journalist and writer with a career in the news industry. My focus is on covering Top News stories for World Stock Market, where I provide comprehensive analysis and commentary on markets around the world. I have expertise in writing both long-form articles and shorter pieces that deliver timely, relevant updates to readers.
