Despite its threat to human health, the virus can target and selectively kill cancer cells that are difficult to treat in adult brains.
Exceeds traditional methods of treatment
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Zica, known for its risk to children, may be a new treatment for brain cancer in adults, according to a recent US study.
The study was conducted by researchers at the Universities of Washington and California in the United States, and published their results, Wednesday, in the journal (The Journal of Experimental Medicine) scientific.
Scientists know the Zica virus is a threat to human health, especially embryos, but the research team has shown that the virus can target and selectively kill some cancer cells that are difficult to treat in adult brains.
To test this, the team experimented with rats in the laboratory, and the Zika virus managed to reduce malignant tumors in the brains of adult mice, without harming other brain cells.
The team carried out other experiments on human brain cancer cells, and the results showed that the Zica virus killed these cancer cells, which show resistance to traditional methods of treatment currently used.
Although HIV testing in humans is still relatively far away, they believe that the ZIKA injection in the brain can coincide with the time of surgery to remove fatal tumors.
The team began to modify the virus to make it more resistant than the usual Zika virus, as a precautionary measure to ensure safety.
"There seems to be a lot of hope in Zika," said researcher Michael Diamond, one of the study's authors. "This virus targets cells that are very important for brain growth in infants, but we can use the same mechanism to target growing tumors."
He hopes the researchers will be able to begin experimenting with humans within 18 months.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on 1 February that the spread of Zika is a worldwide emergency, suggesting it may be associated with neurological disorders such as small head size in infants and Gilan-Bare syndrome, which can cause paralysis.
Previous studies have found evidence that Zika can cross the placental barrier, moving from mother to fetus during pregnancy, and can also seep into embryonic brains in the uterus and inhibit its growth and development.
