The use of viruses as a therapy is not new, but it can help treat a variety of serious diseases. For example, not so long ago, scientists discovered a special virus that, acting on the human immune system, helps it destroy cancer cells.
The discovery belongs to scientists from the UK and, according to experts, reovirus, which is practically harmless to humans, can pass through the blood-brain barrier (the main "protector" of our central nervous system), enter tumor formations in the brain and "spur" immunity to fight cancer naturally.
According to the New Atlas, a recent study involved patients suffering from aggressive forms of brain cancer. They were shown surgery, so people agreed to experimental treatment. A few days before the operation, the patients were injected intravenously with reovirus, which was then detected in all removed tissues, and the tumors themselves decreased in size. According to one of the study authors, Dr. Adele Samson, “This is the first time that the ability of the virus to overcome the blood-brain barrier of the brain has been proven and the possibility of immunotherapy has been opened. This will help patients with aggressive brain cancer fight the disease. The new virus can stimulate the body's immunity, as it makes cancer cells "visible" to him."
At the moment, the British continue clinical trials of their technology. Doctors hope that the new reovirus, if it fails to replace radiation or chemotherapy, will be able to significantly reduce the number and frequency of anti-cancer procedures that are not very beneficial for the body.
Vladimir Kuznetsov
