Marine molecule may help combat 'brain-eating' amoeba
Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a parasitic disease that causes the rapid deterioration of brain tissue, is one of the most lethal infections known, with a fatality rate exceeding 97%. Caused by the free-living amoeba Naegleria fowleri (N. fowleri), the disease progresses with devastating speed, often leaving patients with only a few days to respond to treatment.
Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), caused by the amoeba Naegleria fowleri, is an extremely lethal brain infection with a 97% fatality rate. Researchers at the University of California San Diego have discovered a marine-derived compound, rutamycin B, that rapidly and effectively combats the parasite. Published in Marine Drugs, the study led by Debnath, Fenical, and doctoral candidate Hayley Fong found that rutamycin B demonstrates significant potency against multiple clinical N. fowleri strains at low concentrations, achieving full potency within four hours compared to 16 hours for amphotericin B, the current standard treatment.
Amphotericin B often lags in efficacy or causes severe toxicity, but rutamycin B is 200-300 times more toxic to the amoeba than to human cells. The researchers are optimistic about rutamycin B's potential to cross the blood-brain barrier and effectively treat PAM; however, further animal model studies are required before clinical application.
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