I've got my eye on this

I know this will jinx me for the rest of my days, but in the name of journalism I am going to say it anyway. I have an amazing immune system and I have no allergies. Diseases and ailments that plague most mortals have passed me by. As an adult, I have never had the flu and I just started taking flu shots a couple of years ago. I have never had an ear infection. I have not had a sick day in the past decade, except for a four-day absence because of a very sore back.

 

So it sometimes is hard for me to feel other people’s pain, unless they have something serious, of course. There was an exception this week, however. You can add pink eye to the list of things I don’t get, but for some reason a report about this apparently annoying malady caught my eye, if you’ll excuse the pun.

 

Scientists are reporting discovery of a potential new drug for epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC) — sometimes called “pink eye” — a highly infectious eye disease that may occur in 15 million to 20 million people annually in the United States alone. Their report describing an innovative new “molecular wipe” that sweeps up viruses responsible for EKC appears in ACS’s Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

Ulf Ellervik and colleagues note that there is no approved treatment for EKC, which is caused by viruses from the same family responsible for the common cold. EKC affects the cornea, the clear, dome-shaped tissue that forms the outer layer of the eye. It causes redness, pain, tearing, and may reduce visions for months. “Patients are usually recommended to stay home from work or school, resulting in substantial economic losses,” the scientists write.

They describe discovery of a potential new drug that sweeps up the viruses responsible for EKC, preventing the viruses from binding to and infecting the cornea. The drug removes viruses already in the eye and new viruses that are forming. In doing so, it would relieve symptoms, speed up healing (potentially avoiding impaired vision, and reduce and the risk of infecting the patient’s other eye or spreading the infection within families, schools and work places, the scientists suggested.

To read more, go to http://bit.ly/pQjJWf

 

 

 

 

 

Image: iStock