Doctor in Liberia reports some success in treating Ebola with an HIV drug

The Washington Post Follow-up to the original CNN report        Oct. 2, 2014

Since the original CNN interview, Logan has been in contact with Dr. Fauci. "I can't say it's a good idea or bad idea," Fauci told The Post this week. "It's one of those things where you're in a situation where you have no therapy, so you look for things that might be available."

Fauci said National Institutes of Health researchers have tested lamivudine's reaction to Ebola in test tubes. There was no response; but Fauci said researchers will adjust some levels and try it again "to see if there's even slight activity against Ebola."

If there is, he said, NIH would consider going to the trial stage.

It makes sense to consider lamivudine as a potential Ebola treatment: It belongs to a group of drugs known as nucleoside analogs, which interfere with the replication processes of certain viruses, Fauci explained.

See Washington Post report

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/10/02/a-liberian-doctor-is-using-hiv-drugs-to-treat-ebola-victims-the-nih-is-intrigued/

CNN                           September 27, 2014

(CNN) -- A doctor in rural Liberia inundated with Ebola patients says he's had good results with a treatment he tried out of sheer desperation: an HIV drug.

Dr. Gobee Logan has given the drug, lamivudine, to 15 Ebola patients, and all but two survived. That's a 7% mortality rate. Across West Africa, the virus has killed 70% of its victims.

"I'm sure that when [patients] present early, this medicine can help," Logan said. "I've proven it right in my center."

Logan is mindful that lamivudine can cause liver and other problems, but he says it's worth the risk since Ebola is so deadly.

Logan said he got the idea to try lamivudine when he read in scientific journals that HIV and Ebola replicate inside the body in much the same way.

...

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says that theoretically, Logan's approach has some merit. Lamivudine is a nucleocide analog, and other drugs in this class are being studied to treat Ebola.

Fauci asked CNN to give Logan his email address, saying perhaps his lab could do some follow up work.

Logan says he plans to email Fauci this weekend.

Link to full story

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/27/health/ebola-hiv-drug/