ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 5, 1996 TAG: 9604050098
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
A newly found antibody that stops the action of a virus that causes frequently fatal childhood diarrhea could eventually play a role in vaccines against the disorder, scientists say.
Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Center have discovered that a protein that is part of the virus may be the fundamental cause of a serious diarrhea that strikes millions of young children worldwide.
Mary K. Estes of Baylor, principal author of a study to be published today in the journal Science, said that in studies with laboratory mice, the scientists found that a nonstructural glycoprotein, called NSP4, could, by itself, cause diarrhea in very young mice.
NSP4 is a molecule that plays a role in the replication of rotavirus, an organism responsible for the deaths from dehydrating diarrhea of about 870,000 infants each year in developing countries.
Estes said laboratory experiments showed that an antibody against NSP4 was effective in preventing or stopping diarrhea in young mice. The experiments included giving the antibody to mice orally and through their mother's milk. Both methods were effective, she said.
Rotavirus has been detected in up to 70 percent of the tested specimens from children hospitalized with acute diarrhea in 50 countries. In the United States, rotavirus diarrhea is thought to be responsible for the annual hospitalization of 50,000 to 70,000 children under the age of 5, causing medical and indirect expenses estimated at about $1 billion.
Treatment for the disorder usually involves replacing the large amount of fluids and minerals lost from the body.
Severe cases are usually treated with intravenous fluids.
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