In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Bristol-Meyers Squibb, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have found that  Abatacept (Orencia)  a drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and manufactured by Bristol-Meyers Squibb, reduced the severity of  illness and death in mice exposed to the Influenza A virus.  This may provide a new treatment for the influenza virus that would cut down on the immune response to the virus and still maintain the protective effects.

This drug does not interrupt the immune system’s attack in the lungs which helps to kill the virus, but it prevents the T-cells from overreacting which can make you feel sick and can lead to pneumonia. This “overreacting” immune response is most often found in young healthy people and is thought to be the leading cause of death from pandemic strains of flu.  It is thought to be true in the early cases of the H1N1 (“swine flu”).  Currently this drug is not approved by the FDA for treatment of influenza.  It is however approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

The researchers tested the effectiveness of this drug on mice.  After the mice were injected with a lethal dose of the influenza A virus, the survival rate for the treated mice was 30% higher than the untreated mice.  The treated mice recovered faster and suffer less lung damage than the untreated mice.  The scientist found that treating the mice with Abatacept (Orencia) minimized the amount of tissue damage caused by the immune response and still enable the body to fight off the virus.  Treatment with Abatacept (Orencia) made a significant improvement to the survival of the mice infected with the lethal dose of the virus.  The survival rate was 80% for the treated mice verses 50% for the untreated mice.

There are three types of seasonal influenza,  A, B and C. There are numerous subtypes of Influenza A including the new strain H1N1 also known as the “swine flu”. Currently vaccination is the most effective way to prevent infection with the virus.  The antiviral drug, Tamiflu can help to prevent the virus from spreading in the body if it is taken within the first 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.

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