A prohibited drug can fight the flu
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Methamphetamine destroys the influenza virus.
Methamphetamine is one of the most common addictive drugs in the world. According to rough estimates, it is used by about 30 million people. Dependence on this drug can lead to anorexia, a violation of the regulation of the cardiovascular system, atactic thinking and other negative consequences. However, Taiwanese scientists have discovered that this substance has a positive property that was not previously known - methamphetamine can be effective in treating influenza.
The results of previous studies suggest that regular use of methamphetamine makes a person more susceptible to various pathogens, for example, to the immunodeficiency virus. However, it turned out that the influenza A virus does not belong to these pathogens, as methamphetamine, on the contrary, suppresses it.
To conduct their research, Taiwanese scientists used human lung epithelial cells. Initially, these cells were exposed to methamphetamine in various amounts, and then exposed to influenza A virus. This type of virus is often the cause of epidemics and pandemics of respiratory diseases.
As a result, scientists found that after a period of 30 to 48 hours in cells that had been previously exposed to methamphetamine in varying amounts, much less living infectious agents remained than in the control group cells that did not receive their dose of methamphetamine. The greater the dose of methamphetamine, the fewer live viruses remained in the cells.
"We received the first evidence that methamphetamine significantly reduces the susceptibility to influenza infection in human lung epithelial cells," the scientists concluded.
Scientists do not recommend using methamphetamine in a form that is currently available. Nevertheless, they are going to continue the experiments with this drug in order to find out in what form and in what way it can help in the treatment of the flu without causing any side negative effects.
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