Galveston Researchers Determine That Existing Drugs Treat Zika

GALVESTON, TX — There's more good news about Zika coming from the Houston-area.

Just about a week after an announcement was made that a vaccination for the virus is in development, a team of researchers determined that there might be existing treatments for Zika.

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Scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston tested more than 770 different FDA approved medicines and found that more than 20 already approved drugs are effective in treating the Zika virus.

Although the results are promising, they are very preliminary. The researchers, led by Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco, chair of UTMB's biochemistry and molecular biology department, are recommending that some of the drugs be considered for clinical testing.

The drugs tested were approved for a wide variety of health problems, ranging from parasites to depression. The tests utilized a variety of human cell types, including neural stem cells and primary amnion epithelial cells.