Aethlon Medical Inc (AEMD)

[Tahoe2468]

https://www.meddeviceonline.com/doc/aethlon-medical-announces-avian-flu-treatment-0001

Aethlon Medical Announces Avian Flu Treatment Application
San Diego - Aethlon Medical, Inc. announced that it is expanding the applications of its Hemopurifier treatment technology to include the H5N1 strain of the Avian Flu Virus. The rapid progression of H5N1 infection allows only a brief treatment window with antiviral drugs. The Hemopurifier will target the direct capture of H5N1 and modulation of the immune response as a means to treat when drugs are ineffective or unavailable. In order to advance the H5N1 treatment application, Aethlon will manufacture and ship the treatment devices to established influenza researchers who will seek to establish the benefits of the Hemopurifier as a treatment against Avian Flu.

The application of the Hemopurifier to treat Avian Flu is based on evolving research that indicates a primary cause of death in H5N1 infection is the release of inflammatory cells and chemicals known as a "Cytokine Storm." As a result of cytokine storm, the immune system is hyper-activated to the extent that the normal immune response of clearing viruses, toxins, and infected cells becomes overshadowed by the destruction of healthy red blood cells. Antiviral drugs are not able to shut off a cytokine storm once it has been triggered. Thus, those individuals with robust immune systems are actually at greater risk than the immune compromised individuals who are most susceptible to regular seasonal flu strains. The hyper-activation of the immune system as a result of cytokine storm also fueled the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918. That pandemic is credited with killing between 20-50 million individuals in eighteen months.

The Hemopurifier offers the potential to provide the dual benefit of clearing H5N1 and modulating the overproduction of cytokines. The Hemopurifier is based on hemofiltration principals already indicated as a treatment for sepsis and shock caused by cytokine overproduction. In addition, the Hemopurifier design provides a mechanism to separate H5N1 from circulation so that it can be captured by immobilized affinity agents that bind to glycoproteins on the surface of the virus. Therefore, the Hemopurifier combines the potential to tame the immune system without destroying natural defenses, with the ability to reduce the body burden of infectious H5N1 virus