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In the 1970s, William Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura discovered a class of drugs called avermectins that have helped to control two of the world’s most debilitating tropical diseases: lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis. For their efforts, they were jointly awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine.
But even while the duo are being justly lauded for their work, the diseases they have helped to control still affect more than 150 million people around the world. And the drugs they discovered have arguably reached the limits of their abilities, thanks to a critical limitation that other scientists are now trying to get around.
Lymphatic filariasis is caused by nematodes — parasitic worms that spread through the bites of mosquitoes. They enter a new victim as larvae, which swim to the lymph nodes of the legs and genitals, and mature into adults. When these worms die, they trigger intense inflammation. This blocks the flow of lymph, which accumulates under the skin and causes limbs and groins to swell to gigantic proportions. Thighs can become as wide as torsos. Scrotums can become head-sized. There’s a reason why this disease is also called elephantiasis.
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The avermectins that Campbell and Ōmura discovered, and especially their most potent member ivermectin, can control the symptoms of these diseases by killing the larval nematodes. But they aren’t cures, because they don’t damage the astonishingly sturdy adults.
Read full, original post: How to Cure The Diseases That Nobel-Winning Drugs Cannot
