Brain Eating Amoeba - Naegleria fowleri
How does a Brain Eating Amoeba get into the brain and is their a cure?
Doctors said at a news conference Tuesday morning that an experimental drug saved 16-year-old Sebastian DeLeon from a brain-eating amoeba. The drug is called miltefosine and is the only known medication to help treat the amoeba infection, naegleria fowleri, doctors explained. It is also only produced by an Orlando-based company. Ref. Source 1e
Related: Source 8l and Source 7e.
This drug has been a true miracle for at least two survivors of this eating-brain amoeba (97% of people does not make it!). I heard it is an experimental drug that cost around US$48,000 but this is definitely worth researching more.
Cancer drug and antidepressants provide clues for treating brain-eating amoeba infections. Researchers have now identified three new molecular drug targets in Naegleria fowleri and a number of drugs that are able to inhibit the amoeba's growth in a laboratory dish. Several of these drugs are already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for other uses, such as antifungal agents, the breast cancer drug tamoxifen and antidepressant Prozac. Source 8r.