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Posted on Oct 14, 2002, 5 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
New research suggests that anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin could be used to tackle viruses. Researchers from New Jersey Medical School discovered that aspirin can stop a virus called cytomegalovirus (CMV) from reproducing itself. Experiments on CMV suggest that the virus needs body chemicals called prostaglandins in order to replicate.
New research suggests that anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin could be used to tackle viruses. Researchers from New Jersey Medical School discovered that aspirin can stop a virus called cytomegalovirus (CMV) from reproducing itself. Experiments on CMV suggest that the virus needs body chemicals called prostaglandins in order to replicate. Anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin stop the body from producing these inflammatory chemicals, and tests on CMV-infected human tissue showed that anti-inflammatory drugs "significantly reduced" viral replication. Many people are infected with CMV, and there is evidence showing that heart transplant patients infected with the virus are significantly more likely to develop atherosclerosis. It is also thought that dormant CMV may increase the risk of atherosclerosis, and therefore heart disease, in the general population.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.bbc.co.uk on the 26th February 2002
